Posted on 04/26/2016 8:12:12 AM PDT by dayglored
US presidential primary apps leak supporters' phone data
"...nearly 25 per cent were found to be exposing sensitive data... account details (email address and social media profile names), device phone number, GPS coordinates, and more..."Many US presidential primary apps gather users’ personal information and leave their sensitive data vulnerable to attackers, security researchers at Symantec warn.
Data exchanged through many of the apps can be intercepted by attackers and shared with third parties because of weak security practices.
Symantec analysed the official mobile app behaviours of top primary candidates, as well as popular unaffiliated apps, using its Norton Mobile Security with Norton Mobile Insight tools. More than half the 1,200 presidential-primary-related Android apps* tested exposed sensitive data.
Amongst the popular primary election apps — those with more than one million downloads — nearly 25 per cent were found to be exposing sensitive data.
The most frequent types of data exposed include account details (email address and social media profile names), device phone number, GPS coordinates, and more.
Even official apps, such as those of John Kasich and Ted Cruz, may expose sensitive data. In the case of the official John Kasich 2016 mobile app, every app installed on a device and the user’s location may be exposed. In the case of the official Ted Cruz "Cruz Crew" app, mobile device details and unique IMSI identification were exposed.
More details on the leaky US election apps can be found in a blog post by Symantec here.
Earlier research by the Online Trust Alliance, published last September, revealed that the majority of then US presidential candidates' websites failed a basic privacy and security audit. Sites that failed the audit included the two front-runners: Hillary Clinton (Dem.) and Donald Trump (Rep.).
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/26/pres_apps/
I don't care what Ted Cruz knows about a family member. I care about WHO he SELLS that data to.
Many app companies make extra money by selling data to data-mining outfits, who use that data for marketing profiles, or whoever wants to get a list of people who match specified characteristics. It allows the app company to offer the app "free" (always appreciated by cash-strapped campaigns), while making money from captured data.
Consider the Google Maps cell app. It allows you to use your phone as a GPS unit. It also gives Google data about what trips you make. Stores and restaurants, for example, are interested in where their customers come from.
Didn’t read the article, but I do remember shortly after Iowa people were complaining online that the Cruz app would request permission to all of their contact information, and once installed, would start spamming all your contacts with unsolicited donation requests for Cruz. Very shady, business as usual, scammy operation he has been running since the very beginning. I would not put it past Jeff Roe and his dirty consulting company Axiom Strategies to sell all of the data collected in this campaign. It’s probably worth millions of dollars on the spammer market.
I have signed up with Trump and made several contributions and have yet to receive the emails begging for donations like Cruz sends. If Trump has such an app he isn’t using it.
If you read the article, you would have seen that all the candidates have an "official" app, and that there are hundreds of unofficial ones that nonetheless carry their name.
Trump's name (not surprisingly) appears on the most. But this article is pointing out that of the -official- apps, under the control of the candidate's personnel, Cruz's is the one that seems to be the egregious leaker.
Silly article. If you are registered to vote, the whole world knows where you live.
How else can his campaign tell you if you are in “VOTER VIOLATION” like they did in Iowa...
So this is IN ADDITION to the Software that the campaign purchased that was used for Obama campaign that keeps vast amounts of information on voters and their preferences?
Only if you agree to tell the app where you live.
I wonder if Trump has one of these apps (crickets).
In answer to your wondering...I looked on my smart phone, and I found nothing...So it appears that answer is NO! TRUMP does NOT appear to have a creepy data vacuum application like Cruz!
Yes. If you downloaded his app, then Ted Cruz knows where you live. He stays up at night memorizing addresses...he knows...spooky... Or, if you own your house...he knows...Have a home phone? He knows...Only him...no one else...Ted Cruz...he knows...
CRUZ CAMPAIGN may know a whole lot more than you might think....AND on this Stossel video, Cruz actually states that is proud of it.
States: “We have set out to run the most data driven, data analytic campaign in the history of politics.” In response to Obama’s successful use of data analytics, on tape Ted states: “I went and bought a copy of David Plouffe, Obama campaign director’s book “The Audacity to Win,” gave it to our leadership team and told them, We are going to nakedly and shamelessly emulate that plan on this campaign.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwII16_ExlU
I don’t know for sure if Trump has an app or not. There was one available so you could sign up for rallys. I downloaded that one so I could go to the local Trump rally. It asked for my name, zip, phone and email..stuff needed to get a ticket.
It turned out that I didn’t need the ticket because nobody asked for it when the doors opened. Therefore, I deleted the app. I do get notices through my phone’s msg. app or through my email from Trump, but I requested those.
The thing is, I don’t know if it was an actual Trump app because it also announced local concerts and other neat events in my city.
Most apps it seems do tend to request privileges that aren’t necessary, and you have no opt out. Why would a majong game want access to texts or camera? I do tend to avoid google playstore unless it’s something I absolutely must/need have, and there are very few of those.
Cruz is one of the worse dressed so called professional men period.
He learned to lie from his father early on. Finally someone printed the photo of his old man with Lee Harvey Oswald. It was the meeting in New Orleans. Cruz may be more involved then we know as he knew Dallas well. My wife said she saw women smiling and talking while looking at the National Enquirer at the Grocery store an hour ago.
Donald Trump’s app also leaked the information, as well as Clinton’s, and Kasich’s. But the headline attacks Cruz. Yet everyone insists that the media establishment wants Cruz to beat Trump.
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