Nothing stirs the public attention more than a good old privacy intrusion (and chock full of media coverage). The Carrier IQ debacle went full swing yesterday and the bigwigs are doing their best to distance themselves from this looming privacy disaster though complete denials and somewhat soft confirmations.
And if you'll check http://www.carrieriq.com/ the company claims that it has installed the program on more than 141 million devices (and still counting).
What exactly is CarrierIQ? http://bit.ly/vBEdLm
AT&T, Sprint confirm use of Carrier IQ software on handsets, but not for the things most people are afraid of http://bit.ly/scTsGF
Apple denies Carrier IQ gate. Won't believe it unless someone gets a peek inside. http://dthin.gs/sRREZH
The Xoom and the Nexus line are devoid of CarrierIQ software. http://bit.ly/shyGw6
CarrierIQ finally attracts government scrutiny http://1.usa.gov/uQb5l2
Phone 'Rootkit' Maker Carrier IQ May Have Violated Wiretap Law In Millions Of Cases - Forbes http://onforb.es/rZxmgv
AT&T and Sprint admitted that they're using Carrier IQ but not for the purposes that everyone (starting with Eckhart) assumes. While Verizon, Nokia and Research in Motion are quick to deny that they're using Carrier IQ software on their handsets.
It's important to note that manufacturers are not the primary groups to blame though because carriers are the ones deciding to put CarrierIQ software in the handset offerings. Though they're necessarily not blameless 'cause still at fault for not disclosing the fact that there's a big brother software on their handsets. This is bad, really bad.
Will update this post as this story develop throughout the day.
And here’s the video that started it all: