After Data Leak Threat, Congress Deletes Its Official Mobile App
"The URL for membership on the INC (Indian National Congress) app has been defunct for a while now. Our membership is through the INC website. How difficult is that to understand," tweeted the Congress party's social media head Divya Spandana.
The Indian National Congress¡¯ (INC) official mobile app ¡®With INC¡¯ seems to have disappeared from the Google Play Store, after anonymous hacker who goes by the moniker Elliot Alderson on Monday alleged that the app was sending users¡¯ personal data to Singapore.
However, the Congress party's social media head tweeted saying the party app "has been defunct for a while now".
"The URL for membership on the INC (Indian National Congress) app has been defunct for a while now. Our membership is through the INC website. How difficult is that to understand," tweeted the Congress party's social media head Divya Spandana.
Forget sharing, we don¡¯t collect any data through the App. What a dimwit @malviyamit https://t.co/geq5YdlpQY
¡ª Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) 26 March 2018
On the app being deleted by the Congress, Alderson (you can read more about him in our interview) speaking to ToI, said, ¡°I think they got scared after my first tweet saying that I will look into their app.¡±
The vigilante hacker on Sunday had put out a message on micro-blogging site Twitter, saying he will publish ¡°interesting details¡± about the Congress mobile app he¡¯s found, on Monday.
I found something interesting on the With INC #android app, details will be published tomorrow ?
¡ª Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) 25 March 2018
On Monday, Alderson alleged that when a user signs up for the Congress app, her/ his personal data which is not ¡°encrypted¡± is routed to the app¡¯s servers in Singapore.
Monday¡¯s development comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi¡¯s app -- the NaMo app-- running into trouble for asking its users for a strings of permissions including camera, photographs, location, contacts, and microphone.
When you create a profile in the official @narendramodi #Android app, all your device info (OS, network type, Carrier ¡) and personal data (email, photo, gender, name, ¡) are send without your consent to a third-party domain called https://t.co/N3zA3QeNZO. pic.twitter.com/Vey3OP6hcf
¡ª Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) 23 March 2018
Interestingly, it was Alderson, who had pointed out on Saturday that the NaMo app was sharing user data with a third party in the US without the users¡¯ consent.
On Sunday, the hacker alleged that the NaMo app had ¡°quietly¡± updated its privacy settings.
After the NaMo #android app expos¨¦ yesterday, the privacy policy of @narendramodi has been change quietly. The cached version is accessible here https://t.co/K7Uz5mUsR1
¡ª Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) 25 March 2018
Congress President Rahul Gandhi had earlier in the day urged users to delete the NaMo app.
I¡¯m taking this as a challenge. There is no secret on Android and if it is true, it can be proved https://t.co/qCdhNluDcE
¡ª Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) 26 March 2018