https://www.businessinsider.com/clearview-ai-list-customers-stolen-breach-2020-2

Clearview AI, the controversial facial-recognition company partnering with police, says its entire customer list was stolen in a breach

The full client list of Clearview AI, the embattled facial-recognition company, was stolen by someone with "unauthorized access," The Daily Beast first reported.

The company has drawn backlash from privacy advocates and major social-media platforms over its facial-recognition tool, which lets police use a photo of a person to search a database of images from social media and identify people based on their faces. The breach is notable because Clearview markets its services to law-enforcement agencies and has previously avoided disclosing who its clients are.

Tor Ekeland, Clearview AI's attorney, confirmed The Daily Beast's report in a statement to Business Insider. Ekeland said the breach didn't result from a hack into Clearview's servers but from a "flaw" that gave someone unauthorized access to the company's client list.

"Security is Clearview's top priority. Unfortunately, data breaches are part of life in the 21st century," Ekeland said, adding that the company would "continue to work to strengthen our security."

The New York Times reported in January that the company's customers included hundreds of law-enforcement agencies across the US and Canada, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.