Until late last year, a flawed search tool allowed people to access all ASIC documents sent to any email address.
There was no identification required, so people could spy on the company research of private equity investors if they knew their email address.
ASIC has now told 770 people that their records have been forwarded to another email account.
The search history of investors could reveal which companies are being targeted for mergers, potentially giving away a competitive advantage.
Documents sent to investigative journalists — whose emails are publicly available — could reveal upcoming scandals or wrongdoing.
The glitch also provided the documents free of charge, as ASIC assumed people were searching for documents they had already paid for.
Subscribe
‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
Our Sponsors
Join Us On LinkedIn
Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedIn