Carrier IQ
Encyclopedia
Carrier IQ is a privately-owned mobile software company founded in 2005 and based in Mountain View, California
. It provides mobile analytics services for smartphones to the Wireless industry. The company states that its software is deployed in over 150 million devices worldwide.
It also has offices in London
and Malaysia.
The company was founded by Konstantin Othmer and is a spin-off
from his Core Mobility company. Through its Mobile Service Intelligence Platform (MSIP) its software "aggregates, analyzes, and delivers data to wireless carriers and device manufacturers. This information proves a valuable resource for these businesses to understand the quality of service their customers experience."
The company has formal business affiliations with Nielsen Company, NEC
, and HTC Corporation.
, whose involvement caused Carrier IQ to back down and apologize for the attempt. In the statement of apology, Carrier IQ denied allegations of keystroke logging and other forms of tracking, and offered to work with the EFF.
In response, on November 29, 2011, Eckhart published a video that he claims shows Carrier IQ software in the act of logging, as plain text, a variety of keystrokes. Included in the demonstration were clear-text captures of passwords to otherwise secure websites, and activities performed when the cellular network was disabled. However, although the video shows capture of the keystrokes, the demonstration also shows that the data is being transmitted outside the device and directly to Carrier IQ.
Carrier IQ responded with the statement 'The metrics and tools we derive are not designed to deliver such information, nor do we have any intention of developing such tools.'
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
. It provides mobile analytics services for smartphones to the Wireless industry. The company states that its software is deployed in over 150 million devices worldwide.
It also has offices in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Malaysia.
The company was founded by Konstantin Othmer and is a spin-off
Spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:* Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate transaction forming a new company or entity* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or governmental research...
from his Core Mobility company. Through its Mobile Service Intelligence Platform (MSIP) its software "aggregates, analyzes, and delivers data to wireless carriers and device manufacturers. This information proves a valuable resource for these businesses to understand the quality of service their customers experience."
The company has formal business affiliations with Nielsen Company, NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
, and HTC Corporation.
Rootkit wiretapping controversy
In November 2011, a security researcher discovered that Carrier IQ was logging information such as location without notifying users or allowing them to opt out, and that the information tracked included detailed keystroke logs. Such keylogging, if true, is a violation of US Federal law, and the software is running on at least 140 million smartphones. Carrier IQ threatened the researcher with legal action via a cease and desist letter until he sought and received the backing of the user rights advocacy group Electronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
, whose involvement caused Carrier IQ to back down and apologize for the attempt. In the statement of apology, Carrier IQ denied allegations of keystroke logging and other forms of tracking, and offered to work with the EFF.
In response, on November 29, 2011, Eckhart published a video that he claims shows Carrier IQ software in the act of logging, as plain text, a variety of keystrokes. Included in the demonstration were clear-text captures of passwords to otherwise secure websites, and activities performed when the cellular network was disabled. However, although the video shows capture of the keystrokes, the demonstration also shows that the data is being transmitted outside the device and directly to Carrier IQ.
Carrier IQ responded with the statement 'The metrics and tools we derive are not designed to deliver such information, nor do we have any intention of developing such tools.'
Board of Directors
Its board of directors in November 2011 are:- Larry Lenhart, president and CEO (previously with Mohr Davidow)
- Bruce LeakBruce LeakA graduate of Stanford University, Bruce Leak is best known as a co-founder of WebTV Networks, a company that enabled households to access the Internet through their televisions...
, co-founder of WebTV Networks - Jon Feiber, Mohr Davidow VenturesMohr Davidow VenturesMohr Davidow Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology companies. For over 28 years, Mohr Davidow has helped to build more than 250 startup companies. The firm has $1.85B under management...
- Martin Gibson, Accel PartnersAccel PartnersAccel Partners is a global venture and growth equity firm funding companies from inception through the growth stage.The firm is based in Palo Alto, California with major offices in Bangalore, Beijing, London, and Shanghai....
- Bruce Sachs, Charles River VenturesCharles River VenturesCharles River Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in technology and new media companies.The firm, which is based in Waltham, Massachusetts and Menlo Park, California, was founded in 1970 to commercialise research that came out of MIT...
- Dominic Endicott, Nauta Capital