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Some Presidential Campaign Apps May 'Expose' Personal Data


FILE- A woman uses an Android smartphone in Brussels on Wednesday April 20, 2016. A new study reveals many presidential campaign apps leak personal data.
FILE- A woman uses an Android smartphone in Brussels on Wednesday April 20, 2016. A new study reveals many presidential campaign apps leak personal data.

A new report says many of the official presidential campaign apps are not properly protecting privacy.

Cyber security firm, Symantec says more than half of the apps it tested “may expose” personal data.

The apps for Republican candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich were among those the company said were vulnerable to snooping.

"In the case of the official John Kasich 2016 mobile app developed by MyCivic, every app you have installed on your device and your location may be exposed," said Symantec. “In the case of the official Ted Cruz "Cruz Crew" app, your mobile device details and unique IMSI identification may be exposed.” IMSI is an identifier for cell phones.

Symantec did not say if hackers had taken advantage of the potentially exposed information.

Apps dedicated to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders appeared to have no issues, according to the company.

In addition to the official campaign apps, Symantec says there are many unofficial ones, 75 percent of which are concerned with Republican front runner Donald Trump.

Symantec says people should only use apps from “trusted sources” and to carefully notice what permissions the app is asking for. If you feel the app is asking for too much personal information, “it might be a sign to run the other say,” according to Symantec.

The company estimates about 140,00 phones have campaign apps on them.

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