The latest reports about a data “leak” of some sixteen million land and mortgage register records raised some justified concerns and evoked a response from wide circles. According to news reports, a company registered in the Republic of Seychelles, in exchange for a small fee, provides data from the land and mortgage register, including information on owners and encumbrances secured by mortgages. Let us remind here that the records contained in the Polish land and mortgage register had been made available in 2011 via the Ministry of Justice website. While obtaining the information contained in the records via www.ekw.ms.gov.pl website requires providing a specific number of the record in the register, the above-mentioned company from the Seychelles Islands allows searching through the records by simply specifying the address of a given real property.
Several important aspects should be pointed out while evaluating this situation. First of all, the case at hand is hardly a “leak” per se. The “leaked” data are widely available, among others, on the Ministry of Justice website. The company merely changed the manner of searching and accessing publicly available records.
Source: Rzeczpospolita, 14 March 2013
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