Vodacom is providing information which uniquely identifies you as a subscriber to websites you visit while on its data network.<\/p>\n
This was revealed by an online tool created by security researcher, Kenneth White.<\/p>\n
Among the data, Vodacom subscribers are inadvertently providing to web servers their phone number and a unique identifier for their device called the IMEI\/SV.<\/p>\n
Recent media reports suggest that this data is being sent to web servers because Vodacom is modifying the web traffic of its subscribers.<\/p>\n
In particular, it is injecting an additional hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) header into the messages subscribers send to servers when requesting items such as web pages.<\/p>\n
When asked about the apparent data leak, Vodacom said it is still investigating the issue as a matter of urgency.<\/p>\n
The group acknowledged that it makes use of “header enrichment” to share necessary data with trusted third-party services on its network, but wanted to reassure its customers that their information is not being routinely shared with all websites.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeader enrichment is not our default operation,\u201d Vodacom said. \u201cWe use it for a select number of Vodacom and trusted third-party services, such as charge-to-bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vodacom said that this information was not being shared with all websites, nor was it intended to be shared with all web servers.<\/p>\n
The group said it will provide a further update once its investigation is complete.<\/p>\n
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