Wording in the TOS for Cisco Connect Cloud said the company could keep track of the user's internet history and other information.
Brett Wingo, the VP and general manager of Cisco Home Networking, posted a blog Thursday night apologizing for a "lack of clarity" in the terms-of-service agreement that accompanied a recent firmware upgrade to several higher-end Linksys routers.
The story actually began last week. Cisco released a firmware upgrade that ultimately connected to a new service called Cisco Cloud Connect. Typically routers are managed via a web browser or an installed application on a machine connected to the local network. However this new service pushed all router controls into the cloud. The company had previously talked about shifting over to the new service, but didn't actually formally announce it, thus surprising customers who automatically installed the new firmware.
Although customers reportedly found this forced cloud service use a little annoying, the real outrage came after reading the terms-of-service agreement for Cisco Cloud Connect:
When you use the Service, we may keep track of certain information related to your use of the Service, including but not limited to the status and health of your network and networked products; which apps relating to the Service you are using; which features you are using within the Service infrastructure; network traffic (e.g., megabytes per hour); Internet history; how frequently you encounter errors on the Service system and other related information ("Other Information"). We use this Other Information to help us quickly and efficiently respond to inquiries and requests, and to enhance or administer our overall Service for our customers.
The negative feedback Cisco received from Linksys customers was so great that the company was forced to not only revise the TOS language (see below), but offer instructions on how customers can roll the routers' firmware back to the previous version, and disable automatic upgrades.
Now back to the present.
"Since my last blog post, we’ve continued to receive questions about the service, privacy, and in particular the service terms of Cisco Connect Cloud," Wingo said in the apology posted Thursday night. "We believe lack of clarity in our own terms of service has contributed to many of our customers’ concerns, and we apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this has caused. We take responsibility for that lack of clarity, and we are taking steps to make this right."
To summarize, he made six points:
(1) Linksys customers are not required to sign-up for the Cisco Connect Cloud service and they are able to opt-out of signing up for an account.
(2) Customers can set-up and manage their Linksys router without signing up for a Cisco Connect Cloud account.
(3) Cisco will not arbitrarily disconnect customers from the Cisco Connect Cloud service based on how they are using the Internet.
(4) Cisco Linksys routers are not used to collect information about Internet usage.
(5) Cisco only retains information that is necessary to sign up for and support the Cisco Connect Cloud service.
(6) Cisco will not push software updates to customers’ Linksys routers when the auto-update setting is turned off.
"In response to our customers’ concerns, we have simplified the process for opting-out of the Cisco Connect Cloud service and have changed the default setting back to traditional router set-up and management," he added.
As for the corrected Cisco Connect Cloud wording, here's the Terms of Service, End User License Agreement and Privacy Supplement documents.
It is a wonderful resource for hackers and criminals?
thank goodness the news came out before buying EA4500...I was saving up for a new router since I gave my old E4200 to my uncle and aunt...
I'll wait and get the newer 802.11ac router from Buffalo or Netgear...
thank goodness the news came out before buying EA4500...I was saving up for a new router since I gave my old E4200 to my uncle and aunt...
I'll wait and get the newer 802.11ac router from Buffalo or Netgear...
I don't think they would go beyond such because of the massive damage it would do to them in sales. It would be suicide as no one would buy a router that is going to be used to spy on them when they have the ability to buy others that do not. Still I guess the conspiracy theorists will not be putting tin foil hates on their routers now too.
Agree and I put you back at 0 after some little Tool thumbed you down.
It is a wonderful resource for hackers and criminals?
So what happens when one of these Databases is hacked full of router IP addresses and credentials? I doubt the person who'd use this service knows how to force a WAN IP change. Fun times to be had by all! O_o?
I quit using Linksys since the WRT54GL. They haven't made any good products since then. Have had too many people with issues to ever recommend a Linksys product.
will NEVER consider purchasing a cisco product in the future
you are a fool apologist for a major corporation that is actively seeking to spy on customer internet history as explicitly stated in its TOS... all the apologetics in the world will not correct the intent to data-mine customer internet usage and if you buy that BS PR damage control put out by CISCO then I've got a bridge to sell you.
However, the current policy reserves the right to change it back.
The current policy also allows Cisco to discontinue your access to your router if you download pornography, or if someone complains about you, without a court order, evidence or a chance to state your case and face your accuser.
They have also provided users with a way to back out of the "cloud management" "feature."
But, as noted, Cisco still reserves the right to change how your router works, even if you set it not to accept automatic updates.
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I'd love to see a CISCO PR Apologist defend the above... please.. .make my day
just how many tech-sites are completely subservient to major corporations these days?
Cisco had the intention of mointoring internet usage and forcing all users to use their cloud based solution which provided the added value of having Cisco monitor your internet usage as well as granting Cisco the power to kill your hardware and cut you off from the internet.
Those actions were the result of a Deliberate Decision Making Process. It was no Accident. It was not a Mistake. They were stupid to try it but in doing so Cisco has revealed what it actually would like to do. They got caught with their pants around their ankles and now they are "sorry" and "it was a misunderstanding" and they are in emergency PR damage control mode. It is all meaningless at this point... their intentions have been laid bare. Cisco cannot be trusted.
Only a completely asinine fool would trust a corporation like that moving forward. so yeah, I'm calling you a fool.
Messing with peoples hardware like that is beyond unacceptable, especially for a company like Cisco. I'd be utterly pissed if it happened to me, then again I think most people who seriously care about there routers and performance have already made the switch to Tomato/DD-WRT/Open DD-WRT by this point or even have built there own router from spare parts lying around.
Only a completely asinine fool would think everyone involved in the decision making processes at Cisco are total retards. You really think Cisco has any interest in monitoring your internet usage so they can cut you off? Can you really be that stupid? Why would Cisco have any interest in doing that?
By what screwed up line of reasoning did you use to come that conclusion? How would that in any way promote Cisco products or increase their revenue? I'm really interested to hear why you think Cisco would want to do that, and what financial benefit that would provide to them.