Mozilla has ended its partnership with Onerep, the main provider responsible for its service wiping sensitive data from the web, following revelations its CEO had links tied to data broker sites.
The company behind the popular Firefox browser launched Mozilla Monitor Plus—a new paid service that automatically scans the web to remove users' personal information in case of leaks, around a month ago, but has now taken the decision to pull it after news surfaced of Onerep CEO Dimitri Shelest's less prominent work.
Security advocate Brian Krebs published an in-depth investigation showing Shelest has reportedly been running dozens of people-search sites since 2010.
Onerep's suspect privacy ties
The not-so-private past of Dimitri Shelest wasn't the only issue, either. Krebs also collected proof that the chief of Onerep is also tied with Nuwber, a people-search company, as Krebs put it, "that Onerep claims to target with its data-removal service."
A few days later, Shelest himself decided to come out into the open and replied to Krebs' allegations with a lengthy response. Long story short: he finally admitted to maintaining an ownership stake in Nuwber—a company he founded in 2015—but users should not worry too much as "zero cross-over or information-sharing with OneRep" ever occurred, he said.
That's exactly when Mozilla decided to ditch its new partner, noting in a statement that, "Though customer data was never at risk, the outside financial interests and activities of Onerep’s CEO do not align with our values."
Mozilla Drops Onerep After CEO Admits to Running People-Search Networks https://t.co/D7WzWyWlYO #krebsonsecurity #security @briankrebs pic.twitter.com/XSYbUAtEpaMarch 23, 2024
First launched in 2018 as Firefox Monitor, Mozilla Monitor Plus also partnered with HaveIBeenPwned to notify users when their email addresses or passwords are leaked on the web in data breaches.
Despite being unaware of Onerep's conflict of interest, the founder of HaveIBeenPwned Troy Hunt told Krebs he previously warned Mozilla over these types of data broker removal services.
He said: "The point I made to them was the same as I’ve made to various companies wanting to put data broker removal ads on HIBP: removing your data from legally operating services has minimal impact, and you can’t remove it from the outright illegal ones who are doing the genuine damage."
For now, Mozilla ensures that Mozilla Monitor Plus will keep functioning for all users. "We’re working now to solidify a transition plan that will provide customers with a seamless experience and will continue to put their interests first."
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