Lumia Phones Leaking Private Data To Microsoft 110
New submitter Albietta writes "Two independent sources inside Nokia have confirmed that Nokia Lumia phones send private information to Nokia and Microsoft servers around the world. Location data, SMS-messages and browser identification is uploaded. The Nokia leadership has known about the privacy violation since 2011 when the Lumia phones were introduced. In spring 2013, after suspicions of leaks and during the negotiations for selling off the mobile phone branch to Microsoft, the Finnish state communications department sent an inquiry to Nokia regarding leaking of private data, asking Nokia to assure that users' private data is not leaked. Nokia did not want to (or could not) provide an assurance due to the delicate business negotiations. After two more inquiries with narrower demands, Nokia assured that the phone, excluding third-party software such as the operating system, did not violate Finnish privacy laws. Microsoft is apparently also following Lumia user accounts. On one occasion a parent's Lumia account was closed without warning when they uploaded pictures from the phone displaying their kids playing naked on the beach at their summer cottage."
That doesn't sound like a "leak". (Score:5, Insightful)
That looks like it is deliberate.
Had it only gone to Nokias servers then it could have been an accident - not removing certain debugging code for instance used to tracing.
But sending to Microsoft servers as well as Nokia servers... that is more like a deliberate action.
Wow... (Score:5, Insightful)
Nokia assured that the phone, excluding third-party software such as the operating system, did not violate Finnish privacy laws.
How much non-3rd party software does a Nokia phone ship with? I mean, if you aren't including the OS on the phone as Nokia's responsibility, than what exactly are they responsible for?
So does this make Microsoft MicroScrooGoogled now? (Score:1, Insightful)
Any comments from the closed source crowd? Any comment from the MicroShaft execs? Exactly, now you know why I stopped using Windows 10 years ago.
"Leaking" (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:So does this make Microsoft MicroScrooGoogled n (Score:0, Insightful)
Re:More "Microsoft helps the NSA" (Score:2, Insightful)
This is why Glorious Free Enterprise will always beat the commies at dystopian surveillance: Commies engaged in surveillance for political repression, and had to fund it from the proceeds of their other-than-efficient economies. Here in the Free World, the surveillance pays for itself, thanks to demand from advertisers and analytics weasels, and the clandestine services can get a copy for almost no additional cost! Take that, Ivan!