- Researchers alleged that Russian internet company Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX) had embedded code into apps found on mobile devices that help to transmit user information to Russian servers, the Financial Times reports.
- Yandex's software helped developers create apps for devices running Apple Inc's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google's Android, systems that ran the vast majority of the world's smartphones.
- Yandex, also known as Russia's Google, collected user data harvested from mobiles before sending the information to servers in Russia.
- Researchers alleged that the Kremlin might access the same "metadata" and use it to track people through their mobiles.
- FT notes that Yandex acknowledged that its software collected device, network, and IP address information stored in Finland and Russia. However, the data was non-personalized and very limited, Yandex argued. Practically it was difficult to identify users based solely on such information collected.
- U.S. Senator Ron Wyden criticized Google and Apple for not doing enough to secure smartphones from the Yandex software.
