Samy Kamkar
Cellphone GPS Tracker
Samy Kamkar, who is he?
Samy Kamkar is a talented computer hacker from the United States who has made multiple breakthroughs in internet and electronic technology. He is the known inventor of the Evercookie, an internet cookie that can never be deleted and provides tracking for people who have visited a website, and a drone that can take over other drones forcibly, giving control to a new owner. Samy founded the company Fonality, Inc., co-founded Unleak Security, and was a software-engineer for the company Global Domains International, Inc.
Samy as a Whistleblower
In 2010, Samy discovered the illegal tracking of mobile phones, even if the user's GPS or location services settings were off, and the transfer of GPS and wi-fi information to the owner companies, Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
This illegal activity victimized practically everyone who owned a smartphone produced by these major, generally trusted companies.
After Samy exposed these companies, many refused to give comment, and they were put under pressure to change their policies, especially through multiple lawsuits put against them.
Due to Samy's work as a whistleblower, large companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft are now restricted from illegal GPS and Wi-Fi information gathering, and presumably under a tighter watch from the government in terms of data collection from their mobile phone users.
Today, Samy continues his work as an entrepreneur.
My Reaction
I was surprised that this event garnered less attention than I think it should have. I don't ever recall hearing about this scandal, especially when such large scale companies are in question. Honestly, I have a feeling that the size and power of the companies allowed them to get away with little to no punishment. No individual was held accountable, and no major consequences came to any of the other companies. I feel as if any other smaller scale company was held accountable, the punishment would be much greater.