Several publications have reported a massive data breach of Gravy Analytics, a company that merged with Unacast, a Norwegian firm, at the end of 2023 to create “THE global location intelligence company.”
Gravy Analytics describes its offering as “Enterprise Location Intelligence.” They combine information from advertising platforms, like IP addresses and device info, with other data they either collect or acquire and package for sale. US government agencies, among others, are the purchasers. With the right combination of online and offline data, companies like Gravy Analytics and their customers can either precisely track or infer a specific individual’s whereabouts. A sample of the stolen data reveals information gathered from popular dating, health, and transit apps.
In its Security Incident Notification, filed in accordance with Norway’s reporting requirements, Gravy Analytics said the unauthorized access came by way of a “misappropriated access key” to its Amazon Web Services environment back on January 4. In simple terms, someone who shouldn’t have access to Gravy Analytics’ servers somehow obtained login credentials.
Gravy Analytics has yet to specify exactly what type of data was stolen and whether or not it included personal data. However, Gravy Analytics stated that if personal data was compromised, “…that personal data is likely associated with users of third-party services that supply this data…” to them.
How Can iPhone Users Protect Personal Data Collected From Third-Party Apps?
The Security Notification Incident reported that the stolen data came from third-party services. Apple requires third-party apps to get your consent before they “track your activity across apps or websites they don’t own in order to target advertising to you, measure your actions due to advertising, or to share your information with data brokers.” You can either allow apps to request tracking on a case-by-case basis or disable requests to track for all apps. Here’s how:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down to Privacy & Security.
- Tap Tracking.
- Toggle Allow Apps to Request to Track on or off. Any apps that you’ve allowed to track your activity will also appear on this page.
Click “Learn more…” to dive deeper into Apple’s data tracking policy for third parties. Tracking requires developers to ask permission before tracking your activity. So, if you don’t allow apps to ask for your consent to track, they’re prohibited from doing so. We recommend disabling the Request to Track setting. This page will give you detailed information about tracking and how to enable/disable it on iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS.
It’s important to remember to take your online privacy seriously. There’s a giant world of online data collection and acquisition. Much of it is above board but not always out of the grasp of hackers. It’s not necessary to review the potential nefarious uses of illegally obtained location data. Please take the time to review your privacy, location, and security settings.
global $wp;
. ‘/’;
?>
