Privacy issues disclosed through internal references

Many Amazon employees have access to personalized customer information: this is displayed by a The most in-depth study of the American Journal Wire, Who was able to consult internal company memos written for its key executives.

The same is true of all employees who work for the customer service of an e-commerce company Access to comprehensive customer profiles is a source of many abuses, note Wire, Which cites examples of employees who violate organizational rules, viewing celebrity or spouse order history. Amazon “Strongly rejects the notion that these abuses are common”, The company said in a statement. However, a document from 2015 has identified this broad access to the company’s database as a problem.

Similarly, in 2010, the management of the company was informed that many employees have access to a very powerful tool that allows them to combine as a vendor. In 2015, a new estimate estimated that 23,000 employees had improper access to the tool. Accordingly, the situation is explained Wire, The priority given within Amazon to the efficiency of customer service; Direct access to these tools “Allows them to work faster (…), But it exposes our customers to the risk of fraud or privacy encroachment on the part of our employees or subcontractors ”, Citing a recent note quoted by an American newspaper.

Data access to third-party companies

Inquiry of Wire Amazon also reveals that it has not taken the necessary precautionary measures to protect the personal data of its customers from third-party companies. AMZReview, a subsidiary of the Chinese company TouchData, has been able to collect personal data from millions of Amazon customers over the years, through an inadequately supervised data access process. The company linked this information to the content of hacked email databases so it could sell its customers negative reviews on their page. Access to AMZReview was disconnected, and the company was shut down.

But the consultation said the problem was not limited to one company Wire. When Amazon’s security team reviewed the serial practices of third-party developers, half of them concluded that they did not comply with the site’s terms of service.

In more detail, the internal company documents insist that Amazon “Share[ait] Too much “ Restrict access to information, and data to its vendors and partners. The company in particular, in most cases, “Not likely to know” Whether third party companies collect data for legitimate reasons.

Since then, the Internet company has limited the data it shares, established restrictions, and asked the major third-party companies it works with to erase historical data at their disposal. “It simply came to our notice then, Says an Amazon spokesman quoted Wire. We have strict policies and clauses in our contracts that prohibit the misuse of our users’ data, and we continue to monitor violations of our settings. “