Verizon is struggling to resolve a technical issue that resulted in customer addresses, phone numbers, account numbers, and other personal information being leaked through a chat system that helps potential subscribers determine if Fios services are available at your location.
Personal data appears when people click on a link to chat with a Verizon representative. When the chat window opens, it contains transcripts of conversations that other potential or current customers have had. Transcripts include full names, addresses, phone numbers, account numbers (if they already have an account), and various other information. Some of the transcripts seen by Ars are from June. A separate window lists the addresses of the customers, although it is not known to whom these addresses belonged.
“Hi, I’m looking to get the Fios teachers discount,” one person wrote on Nov 29. Below are redacted screenshots of some of the things available.
Ars learned of the leak Monday afternoon and immediately alerted Verizon representatives. The plan was to report the leak only after it was repaired. When this article was published, the leak was still ongoing, although the number of cats on display had declined. Ars decided to report the leak to alert people who may be using the service that this data is exposed. It is not known when Verizon began disclosing the data. Since some of the talks date back to June, the leak can go on for months.
In a statement released Thursday morning, Verizon said:
We are investigating an issue with our online chat system which helps people who check the availability of Fios services. We believe that a small number of users may have seen the name, phone number and / or address of a house or building of an unrelated person who had previously used this chat system to enter this information. Since the problem was reported to us, we have identified and isolated it and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.
This is not the first time that Verizon has released information about its customers. In 2016, a database of over 1.5 million Verizon Enterprise Solutions customers it was listed for sale on an online crime forum. Verizon said at the time that a “security breach on their site [had] allowed hackers to steal customer details, ”according to KrebsOnSecurity, which broke the news.
Verizon was also one of the four US mobile operators. captured customer locations in real time law enforcement. One of the services made subscriber locations accessible to everyone
For now, it makes sense to avoid using Verizon’s Fios Free / Busy chat feature. This article will be updated once Verizon reports that the flaw has been fully fixed.