Last year, four of the largest U.S. cell carriers were caught selling and sending real-time location data of their customers to shady companies that sold it on to big spenders, who would use the data to track anyone “within seconds” for whatever reason they wanted. At first, a little-known company LocationSmart was obtaining (and leaking) […]
View More Despite promises to stop, US cell carriers are still selling your real-time phone location dataCategory: locationsmart
Verizon stops selling customer location to two data brokers after one is caught leaking it
Verizon is cutting off access to its mobile customers’ real-time locations to two third-party data brokers “to prevent misuse of that information going forward.” The company announced the decision in a letter sent to Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who along with others helped reveal improper usage and poor security at these location brokers. It is not, however, getting out of the location-sharing business altogether.
View More Verizon stops selling customer location to two data brokers after one is caught leaking itLocationSmart didn’t just sell mobile phone locations, it leaked them
What’s worse than companies selling the real-time locations of cell phones wholesale? Failing to take security precautions that prevent people from abusing the service. LocationSmart did both, as numerous sources indicated this week.
View More LocationSmart didn’t just sell mobile phone locations, it leaked them