E-Paper
Experts flag privacy concerns as Koo records surge in downloads
The controversy began when a French cyber security research, who uses the nom de guerre of Elliot Alderson, tweeted redacted screenshots showing it was possible to access users’ e-mail, date of birth, name, marital status and gender.
Social media website Koo recorded a massive surge in user base, but cyber security researchers flagged potential privacy risks for users, triggering a war of words with its developers.
The controversy began when a French cyber security research, who uses the nom de guerre of Elliot Alderson, tweeted redacted screenshots showing it was possible to access users’ e-mail, date of birth, name, marital status and gender – set of data that is known as personally identifiable information (PII).
“I spent 30 min on this new Koo app. The app is leaking of the personal data of users: email, dob, name, marital status, gender...” Alderson said in a tweet. To this, Aprameya R, co-founder and CEO, said: “The data visible is something that the user has voluntarily shown on their profile of Koo. It cannot be termed a data leak. If you visit a user profile you can see it anyway”.
Alderson denied this was the case and attached profile screenshots that did not appear to publicly show the information the Koo executive alluded to.
“We’re attempting to do something for our country, India. All help is appreciated. If you want to help out in this journey of ours please write to me on ar@kooapp.com and we can take a look at all the feedback you have. Thanks!”, Aprameya responded.
Privacy experts say PII data can be used in crimes such as identity theft and using it to bypass banking security verification processes to carry out financial fraud.
