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A daily dose of today's top tech news, in brief.
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Report suggests as many as 14 million Verizon customers exposed in security lapse
Reports state that as many as 14 million Verizon subscriber records were exposed, and were left unprotected for a week after the telecom giant was informed of the security lapse. The records were found on an unprotected Amazon S3 storage server controlled by Israeli company Nice Systems, and were available to anyone with an easy-to-guess web address.
ZDNet reports that the customer records were contained in log files automatically generated following a customer service call to the company. "These interactions are recorded, obtained, and analyzed by Nice, which says it can 'realize intent, and extract and leverage insights to deliver impact in real time,'" ZDNet writes. "Verizon uses that data to verify account holders and to improve customer service."
The records included a customer's name, cell phone number, and a PIN that provides complete access to a subscriber's account. Security experts warned of phone hijacking and account breaches that could potentially effect many of Verizon's 108 million post-paid wireless customers.
Verizon is reportedly investigating how the information ended up improperly stored on an Amazon Web Services server, which was part of a Verizon project to improve customer service. "A spokesperson said Monday that an investigation determined 'no other external party accessed the data,'" ZDNet writes. "When pressed, the company would not say how it came to that conclusion."
Official support for Windows Phone 8.1 ends today
Official support for Windows Phone 8.1 ended today, marking the end of an era for one of Microsoft's largest flops. The end of service comes three years after the company first rolled the update out to Windows phone users, and leaves millions of phones still running the system unsupported and unprotected. Though many believe Windows Phone has been dead for some time now, according to AdDuplex as many as 80 percent of Windows-powered phones are still running an unsupported operating system.
The all but abandoned mobile OS has been a tough ride for die-hard Windows users, with weak updates and a lack of new features serving as nails in the coffin of a technological flop. Many believe Windows 8.1 was the most significant Windows Phone update, and included the Cortana digital assistant and major UI changes.
"Microsoft has shied away from officially killing off its phone OS efforts, but it's been evident over the past year that the company is no longer focusing its efforts on Windows for phones," The Verge writes. "Microsoft gutted its phone business last year, resulting in thousands of job cuts."
Amazon may allow developers to access customer audio transcripts
In a move that has privacy advocates worried, Amazon is reportedly considering granting developers access to transcripts of Alexa audio recordings. The report from The Information says that Amazon is considering the change to stay competitive in the rapidly growing and highly competitive smart speaker market.
"When you use a skill, we provide the developer the information they need to process your request. We do not share customer identifiable information to third-party skills without the customer's consent," an Amazon spokesperson told The Verge. "We do not share audio recordings with developers."
At the moment, all audio recordings and transcripts are processed and stored on Amazon's own servers. A large reason for this, The Information writes, falls on Amazon's broad commitment to user privacy. In a prominent case last year, Amazon fought law enforcement after it received a broad request for audio files originating from an Echo speaker owned by a murder suspect.
"According to The Information, Amazon does give some data over to a select few "whitelisted" developers, though how that system works is unclear," The Verge writes. Though Apple has not yet taken a public stance on how it will handle audio files, Google does grand transcript access to developers, possibly forcing Amazon to fall in line to stay competitive.
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But there's more going on in the world than that.
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More than 80,000 websites and services protest in support of net neutrality
Internet giants along with more than 80,000 websites and services united today in support of net neutrality. Posting banners informing users of impending regulation changes being considered by the FCC, many also gave users a way to contact their representatives directly. Several sites also served visitors simulated splash screens portraying what may occur in the event net neutrality is overturned.
Sites including Google, Facebook, Amazon, Reddit, AirBnB, Twitter, and Snapchat all joined the protest, hoping to push users to action in support of keeping the internet an unrestricted resource. An end to net neutrality threatens to allow internet service providers to "throttle" traffic from certain sites, offering "internet fast lanes" for services or customers that pay more.
Many that oppose the proposed changes believe it is an affront to free speech, and that the new policies would stifle competition from smaller firms and startups that can't afford to stay competitive with their traffic. "When numerous firms went "dark" in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act, which they argued was a threat to free speech, it led to the bill being withdrawn," the BBC writes, pointing to the success of similar campaigns in the past.
The battle lines have been drawn, with major ISP's continuing to lobby for new legislation, and their opponents continuing to push for a preservation of Obama-era policy in Congress' coming vote.
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