Plea agreement, first reported by Ars Technica, sold Verizon customer info to private investigator for five years
As the internet of things, particularly wearables, continues to perpetuate, so too does the conversation around access and dissemination of personal data. But, as a plea deal struck by a Verizon technician reveals, the IoT is just one aspect of personal digital privacy.
As discovered by publication Ars Technica, former Verizon employee Daniel Traeger has pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Southern Division and faces a maximum penalty of up to five years incarceration, up to $250,000 in fines, a combination of those two punishments, as well as supervised release.
Based in Birmingham, Ala., Traeger apparently met a private investigator sometime in 2009 and began selling the PI customer call log and location data, according to court documents.
Traeger was paid $50 per month of customer records, and sold around two records per month at the beginning of the relationship. By 2013, Traeger was selling enough info to bring in around $750 per month.