Mobile spying firm fixes data leak

Customer information safe at last

Written by Iain Thomson

Smartphone monitoring firm Mobile Spy has fixed a security hole that exposed the data of all its users to public display.

The company makes software that records every call and SMS made from a mobile phone, but a flaw in the company's website meant that the demo page could be used to read all the data of customers who used the service.

Sean Sullivan, a senior researcher at F-Secure, demonstrated the flaw last week to vnunet.com, which then contacted the software's manufacturer asking for comment.

"The data leakage described is not possible with our servers," replied James Johns, chief executive of software creator Retina-X Studios, at 1.47am BST this morning.

"Anyone trying this method would receive a message denying access. Retina-X Studios takes customer privacy very seriously. We have tested all services to verify that this is not an issue."

After checking the website, Sullivan confirmed that the problem had just been fixed. He has detailed the issue and provided screenshots on an F-Secure blog.

"They have fixed the problem," he said. "It is the same response as we got from FlexiSPY when we alerted them to the same problem. They have pretty much corrected it the same way too."

Tags:

reader comments

related articles

UK phone calls to be logged for one year

Civil liberty groups and opposition parties express outrage 01 Oct 2007

 

Experts slam mobile spying software

Companies interested in money, not security 27 Sep 2007

Men more likely to be cyber-stalking victims

Male surfers careless about posting personal info online 11 Sep 2007

Judge rules internet spying illegal

New blow to the Patriot Act 07 Sep 2007

Security expert slams spyware snooping

Computer crime authorities need to tread very carefully 19 Jul 2007

vnunet.com analysis: Browser wars changing security game

Variety and competition bring new protections and new threats 18 Jun 2008

Facebook blunder exposes personal details

Beta test site shows dates of birth 16 Jul 2008

Review 2007: IT security and e-crime

Computing's review of the year looks back at the top IT security and cybercrime stories 20 Dec 2007

related whitepapers

today's top stories

Computing launches all-new IT jobs site

Updated Computingcareers.co.uk provides enhanced feature for jobseekers 14 Oct 2008

Q&A: BT Business head of SaaS, Chris Lindsay

BT's head of software-as-a-service explains the benefits of the on-demand delivery model and how the current economic downturn could force firms to re-evaluate how they buy software 14 Oct 2008

WiMax: Threat or opportunity?

We examine the merits of WiMax and its benefits relative to other wireless technologies in our latest video 13 Oct 2008

Learning from the credit crunch to avoid a broadband crunch

While it might be the most pressing issue de jour , the financial system isn’t the only area where government needs to... 10 Oct 2008

How careerism can warp IT procurement

Many working in IT put their career interests before those of their employer when weighing up purchasing options 10 Oct 2008

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Jobs

Related jobs

Job of the week

Job alerts

Sign up here

Find your next job


IT Salary Checker

Check salary here

Advertisement

White papers

Search white papers

Top categories

VPN, Extranet and Intranet Solutions

WAN/ LAN Solutions

Network Security

Interoperability-Connectivity

Grid/ Utility Computing

Latest poll

Are you worried about your job prospects in IT over the next 12 months?

Are you worried about your job prospects in IT over the next 12 months?

Will the economic crisis affect your job prospects?

Previous poll results

Latest audio and video articles

Remote workerVideo

WiMax: Threat or opportunity?

We examine the merits of WiMax and its benefits relative to other wireless technologies in our latest video 13 Oct 2008

programming codeVideo

The definitive guide to software development

Five key trends and five best practice tips to help you improve your programming capabilities 09 Oct 2008

Latest in-depth articles

BT TowerAnalysis

Q&A: BT Business head of SaaS, Chris Lindsay

BT's head of software-as-a-service explains the benefits of the on-demand delivery model and how the current economic downturn could force firms to re-evaluate how they buy software 14 Oct 2008

Financial Services Authority buildingAnalysis

FSA threatens executives with fines

Senior management to be held accountable for security lapses at banks 09 Oct 2008

Advertisement

Primary Navigation