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An insurance company’s API exposed customers’ car location histories

andreascarpino.it

1–10 of 69 posts

Re: An insurance company’s API exposed customers’ car location histories

#4
post #2

Until there is some kind of law in place that makes companies financially responsible for this kind of blunder, it will proliferate. In the current state of affairs it's simply not economically justified to implement proper security.

I have a feeling it's a subtly different problem: the people they've contracted to build this just don't understand security. They've evidently attempted to secure this, just in completely the wrong manner!

Re: An insurance company’s API exposed customers’ car location histories

#6
post #2

Until there is some kind of law in place that makes companies financially responsible for this kind of blunder, it will proliferate. In the current state of affairs it's simply not economically justified to implement proper security.

I have a feeling it's a subtly different problem: the people they've contracted to build this just don't understand security. They've evidently attempted to secure this, just in completely the wrong manner!

Here's an interesting thought: what with the money there is to be made in security these days programmers that actually know everything there is to know about security will leave applications development.

There is a good chance that the lure of security consultancy $ is resulting in a degradation of the quality of the applications.

Re: An insurance company’s API exposed customers’ car location histories

#8
Terrible, but they did fix it rather quickly once the flaws were disclosed. Given many other such stories, the almost expected outcome would be to deny the problem, have the discloser prosecuted or sued, and put out a fix six months later that made things worse.

Re: An insurance company’s API exposed customers’ car location histories

#9
post #5

It's a shame he can't name the telematics company. I have a suspicion it's one I interviewed at a few years ago.

Funny, you don't name it either.

Naming it on a suspicion alone would be irresponsible.

Re: An insurance company’s API exposed customers’ car location histories

#10
post #2

Until there is some kind of law in place that makes companies financially responsible for this kind of blunder, it will proliferate. In the current state of affairs it's simply not economically justified to implement proper security.

I have a feeling it's a subtly different problem: the people they've contracted to build this just don't understand security. They've evidently attempted to secure this, just in completely the wrong manner!

Actually, the parent is correct.

If the company providing the service were financially liable for these blunders, they would be careful to select contractors that are capable of meeting the security needs.

As it is now, there is no financial incentive to select the "security aware" contractor, and the "non-aware" one is so much cheaper...

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