Government authorities have been snooping on smartphone users via push notifications sent out by applications, wrote a US senator in a letter to the Department of Justice on December 6.
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has requested that the Department of Justice relax any existing limits on concerns about push notification surveillance.
In the letter, Wyden wrote “I write to urge the Department of Justice (DOJ) to permit Apple and Google to inform their customers and the general public about demands for smartphone app notification records”
More about push alerts
Push alerts, he continues, are routed through a digital post office maintained by the phone’s operating system suppliers. “Because Apple and Google deliver push notification data, they can be secretly compelled by governments to hand over this information,” according to the letter. This might provide governments with information about how users engage with specific apps, give them a peek at the whole text of a notice, and reveal some exposed data.
This article has been indexed from CySecurity News – Latest Information Security and Hacking Incidents