With latest mobile security hole, could we at least focus on the right things?
A bunch of apps from some major players — including Expedia, Hollister, Air Canada, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hotels.com and Singapore Airlines — recently came to grief because of a security/privacy hole in a third-party analytics app they all used, according to a report from TechCrunch. The incident exposed extremely sensitive customer information including payment card and password data shared in clear text. That sort of thing shouldn't be happening — and yet everyone seems focused on the wrong lesson.
The analytics app, called Glassbox, captures all information from a user's interaction with the app, including keystrokes entered and spots on the touchscreen the user touched or clicked. It also may include some screen captures. In every case, the apps give insufficient privacy disclosures to app users, or none at all. And, as already mentioned, it shares sensitive data in clear text.