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Sprint Faces Backlash For Adding MDM Software To Devices (csoonline.com)

Posted by timothy on from the but-we-thought-you-wanted-that dept.

itwbennett writes: On Wednesday, Sprint customer Johnny Kim discovered an in-store technician adding MDM software to his personal iPhone 6 without prior notice or permission. Kim took to Twitter with his complaint, sparking a heated conversation about privacy and protection. One expert who commented on the issue told CSO's Steve Ragan that 'it's possible Sprint sees the installation of MDM software as an additional security offering, or perhaps as a means to enable phone location services to the consumer.' But, as Ragan points out, 'even if that were true, it's against [Sprint's] written policy and such offerings are offered at the cost of privacy and control over the user's own devices.' (MDM here means "Mobile Device Management.")

5 of 123 comments (clear)

  1. Not according to TFA by tomhath · · Score: 4, Informative

    Isn't it more likely you have an unethical tech who is looking for future access to phones?

    Reading the article (yea, I know) it seems Sprint gave him several different reasons why it was installed. None of which included rogue technician.

  2. Re:Nice summary! by Sowelu · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think you've forgotten how multidisciplinary Slashdot is. Hell if I've ever seen that acronym before.

  3. How to tell if you may have MDM by plover · · Score: 5, Informative

    On your iPhone, go into Settings / General, select Profile, then look at the profiles that have been added. A stock iPhone has none. If you have an ISP who adds a cert that allows you to connect to their hotspots, you may see that here. If you have installed your company's MDM, perhaps a product like AirWatch, that will show up here. If you see something you don't recognize, that's when you need to do some research.

    Inside the profile you can view the certs it installed. A WiFi cert will list what it can do: be wary if it includes a proxy.

    --
    John
    1. Re: How to tell if you may have MDM by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's only visible if a profile has been installed.

      --
      Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
  4. Slashdot != Journalism by sjbe · · Score: 4, Informative

    Isn't it proper journalism practice to define acronyms on their first use, then continue on using the acronym through the remainder of the story?

    Slashdot isn't journalism. Slashdot is a debate forum that is kinda sorta vaguely topical. Nobody comes to slashdot for breaking news. They come to debate things and occasionally be informed with a viewpoint they might not have considered previously.