A data broker compiled a report on Jeffrey Epstein’s “Geographic Flow of Visitors.”pedophile island,” exclude it from mobile data obtained through unknown means, new survey Revealed by Wired.
The company involved, formerly known as Near Intelligence, confirmed to Wired that it had created such a report but declined to provide details about who commissioned it or what it would be used for.The report involves data points from mobile web traffic that appear to reveal 166 locations across the United States “where near-side intelligence infers visitors to Little St. James may live and work.” According to the report, obtained by Near Intelligence its mobile location data From online advertising exchanges, which can obtain detailed information about mobile users through an application on the phone. When analyzed, this data allows companies like Near Intelligence to accurately assess a person’s geographic movements during daily activities.
If Proximal Intelligence was able to methodically identify the tracks of visitors to Epstein’s secret sanctuary, it does not appear to have expended much effort in protecting the data it accumulated. That is, Wired reporters somehow stumbled across Epstein’s reporting, which they say was exposed on the open internet. Wired report:
Near Intelligence… tracked devices visiting Little St. James from 80 cities in 26 U.S. states and territories, with Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Michigan and New York topping the list. Coordinates point to mansions in gated communities in Michigan and Florida; homes on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts; a nightclub in Miami; and a sidewalk across the street from Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
For years, privacy advocates Already warned The data brokerage industry is a civil liberties nightmare that threatens fundamental principles of personal digital autonomy. This story seems to emphasize this again. Jeffrey Epstein’s island was said to be a secret haven for the wrongdoings of the rich and powerful. However, a private company somehow discovered location data that, under the right circumstances, could be used to reveal the identities of visitors to that ultra-private island. It then appeared to have recklessly exposed the information to the internet. If even Epstein’s secret cabal was exposed to this kind of banal corporate espionage, then no one will be able to escape the surveillance of the data brokerage industry.
Near Intelligence has been plagued by scandal in recent years and has previously filed for bankruptcy amid allegations of internal malfeasance. Thereafter, it was re-formed and renamed “Azira”.
Gizmodo reached out to Azira for comment and will update this story if we hear back. An Azira spokesperson told Wired: “Azira is committed to data privacy and the responsible access and use of location data… To this end, Azira is committed to tracking and responding to emerging state laws, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guided by legal developments as well as previous enforcement examples and best practices. Azira is developing procedures to protect consumers’ sensitive location data. This includes efforts to disable all sample product accounts created by Near.”