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EFF Files Complaint with FTC Over AOL Data Leak

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the little-tighter-with-those-pipes-please dept.

Quincy A. writes "Last week's exposure of search data on over 500,000 AOL users was a gigantic embarrassment for the company. It may be about to get worse, as the EFF has filed a complaint with the FTC over the incident. 'Citing AOL's own Network Privacy Policy, the EFF says that the company failed to "implement reasonable and appropriate measures to protect personal consumer information from public disclosure."' Among other things, the complaint asks AOL to notify all users affected by the data disclosure via certified mail and provide free credit monitoring for a year."

2 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. I've been meaning to make a donation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    While I'm demonstrating my support, I thought I'd suggest some of you do the same.

    Have you shown your support? EFF

  2. Re:Why do they even have this stuff? by pclminion · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why do they keep such logs, anyway? If it's to help tailor results better, or to help sell advertising, then why is it correlated with a user ID? My company, for example, saves a keyword search history, but there is no user-identfiable information correlated with it. And it's plenty of information for our needs.

    First, the search database doesn't list AOL user IDs. It lists "unique IDs" for each user, but they are not correlated to whatever AOL's internal "User ID" is. But to assume that sanitizing the data by changing or completely removing user IDs will make people safe is boneheaded.

    Let's start with a grep for social security numbers. I've blipped out the actual numbers themselves, but that's not much help for these poor folks, since anybody can get their hands on the database:

    • find robert williams akron oh 44306 XXX-XX-XXXX
    • birth certificate for debra ann collins 1-28-59 ss XXX-XX-XXXX
    • locate keith ivan thompson born 3 may 64 social security XXX-XX-XXXX last address was XXXXXX colorado
    • kristy nicole vega hammond la. social secruity number XXX-XX-XXXX birth date 03 08 81 drivers license number la. XXXXXXXXX address XXXXXXXX.

    Moving on, check out this fascinating query:

    • all i can say is you looked amazing in that photo. i would love to get achanceto know you. expect a call from me soon. are you looking for a friend or a companian just for future reference

    Looks like somebody accidentally copy-pasted a portion of their private communication (email or IM, perhaps) into the search query box and clicked "Submit." Now their private thoughts are available for all to see. You'd be AMAZED at the stuff you'll find in these logs. The idea that by removing usernames/IDs from data is "instant sanitization" is naive and dangerous. There is more than enough information in many of these queries to identify specific individuals and examine EVERYTHING they have searched for in the past 6 months.

    (I do question the sanity and intelligence of some of the people who submitted queries like the ones above, but ultimately this is not their fault.)