Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2020
Telmate inmate and contacts data exposure disclosed
Issue disclosure
Comparitech reported that an unsecured database associated with Telmate contained personal information and message records for inmates and their contacts. Telmate's owner, Global Tel Link, secured the database after being informed and said the incident resulted from a vendor's actions.
Company response
Clarification — Global Tel Link
In a statement GTL provided, the company blamed the incident on "the actions of one of [its] vendors" and clarified that "no medical data, passwords, or consumer payment information were affected."
Source excerpt
Telmate, a widely used prison phone service, left millions of inmates' and their contacts' data exposed online, according to Comparitech.
Comparitech security researcher Bob Diachenko discovered an unsecured database in early August containing 11 million records of inmates and their contacts, as well as 227 million message records.
Comparitech says Telmate owner Global Tel Link secured the database within just a few hours after being informed.