Verizon is struggling to fix a bug that has been leaking customers’ addresses, phone numbers, account numbers, and other personal information through a chat system that helps prospective subscribers find out if Fios services are available. their position.
Personal information is displayed when a person clicks a link to chat with a Verizon representative. When the chat window opens, you have transcripts of conversations that other customers, either prospective or current, have had. The scripts include full names, addresses, phone numbers, account numbers (in the event they already have an account), and a lot of other information. Some of the books that have been reviewed by Ars date back to June. A separate window includes customers’ addresses, although it doesn’t show who those addresses belong to.
“Hi—I’m looking to get a teacher discount for Fios,” one person wrote on Nov. 29. Below are edited screenshots of some of what’s available.
Ars learned of the leak on Monday afternoon and alerted Verizon representatives immediately. The program has to report the leak only after it has been fixed. As this post goes live, the leak is still taking place, although the number of visible conversations has decreased. Ars decided to report the leak to alert people who can use the service that this data is exposed. It’s not clear when Verizon started leaking the data. With some dating back to June, it’s possible that the leak has been happening for months.
In a statement released Wednesday morning, Verizon said:
We are looking for an issue involving an online chat system that helps individuals who are checking the availability of Fios services. We believe that a small number of users may have seen a name, phone number, and/or house or home address from an unrelated individual who has previously used the chat system to enter that information. Since the issue was brought to our attention, we have identified and isolated the problem and are working to resolve it promptly.
It’s not the first time Verizon has leaked customer information. In 2016, a database of more than 1.5 million Verizon Enterprise Solutions customers was put up for sale on an online crime forum. Verizon said at the time that “a security flaw in its site (has) allowed hackers to steal customer contact information,” according to KrebsOnSecurity, which broke the news.
Verizon is also one of the four US cell phone carriers handle selling customers’ real-time positions to services that cater to law enforcement. One of the works make our subscriber positions available to anyone Take the time to exploit the simple bug in a free trial version.
For the time being, it makes sense to avoid using Verizon’s Fios search chat feature. This post will be updated once Verizon says the glitch is fully fixed.