The information being passed around is believed to have come from cellphone service providers T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T. This instance shows how easy it is to find someone’s location without using expensive equipment or tactics. A bounty hunter purchased the data and then sent it to his sources, which shows how unsatisfactory the protection of customer’s data is. Microbilt is a company that sells geolocation services to people like bounty hunters who may in turn unintentionally release location data into the wild. Since Microbilt has come under fire, they have suspended their services until the situation is resolved. AT&T and T-Mobile have both denied claims that they sell data to unauthorized parties. It is believed that telecom companies will be forced to limit the amount of data they provide to third parties.
Analyst Notes
Users are susceptible to these situations even if they are cautious about what apps they share their locations with. If users have further questions regarding the sharing of their information they should contact their service providers.
