In mid-March 2024, KrebsOnSecurity revealed that the founding father of the private information removing service Onerep additionally based dozens of people-search firms. Shortly after that investigation was revealed, Mozilla stated it could cease bundling Onerep with the Firefox browser and wind down its partnership with the corporate. However almost a 12 months later, Mozilla continues to be selling it to Firefox customers.
Mozilla gives Onerep to Firefox customers on a subscription foundation as a part of Mozilla Monitor Plus. Launched in 2018 below the identify Firefox Monitor, Mozilla Monitor additionally checks information from the web site Have I Been Pwned? to let customers know when their e-mail addresses or password are leaked in information breaches.
The ink on that partnership settlement had barely dried earlier than KrebsOnSecurity revealed a narrative exhibiting that Onerep’s Belarusian CEO and founder Dimitiri Shelest launched dozens of people-search companies since 2010, together with a still-active information dealer referred to as Nuwber that sells background studies on individuals. This appeared to contradict Onerep’s acknowledged motto, “We imagine that nobody ought to compromise private on-line safety and get a revenue from it.”
Shelest launched a prolonged assertion (PDF) whereby he acknowledged sustaining an possession stake in Nuwber, a shopper information dealer he based in 2015 — across the identical time he began Onerep.
Onerep.com CEO and founder Dimitri Shelest, as pictured on the “about” web page of onerep.com.
Shelest maintained that Nuwber has “zero cross-over or information-sharing with Onerep,” and stated some other previous domains which may be discovered and related along with his identify are now not being operated by him.
“I get it,” Shelest wrote. “My affiliation with a individuals search enterprise could look odd from the surface. In reality, if I hadn’t taken that preliminary path with a deep dive into how individuals search websites work, Onerep wouldn’t have the most effective tech and workforce within the area. Nonetheless, I now recognize that we didn’t make this extra clear previously and I’m aiming to do higher sooner or later.”
When requested to touch upon the findings, Mozilla stated then that though buyer information was by no means in danger, the surface monetary pursuits and actions of Onerep’s CEO didn’t align with their values.
“We’re working now to solidify a transition plan that may present clients with a seamless expertise and can proceed to place their pursuits first,” Mozilla stated.
In October 2024, Mozilla revealed a press release saying the seek for a distinct supplier was taking longer than anticipated.
“Whereas we proceed to judge distributors, discovering a technically glorious and values-aligned associate takes time,” Mozilla wrote. “Whereas we proceed this search, Onerep will stay the backend supplier, guaranteeing that we will keep uninterrupted companies whereas we proceed evaluating new potential companions that align extra intently with Mozilla’s values and person expectations. We’re conducting thorough diligence to seek out the best vendor.”
Requested for an replace, Mozilla stated the seek for a alternative associate continues.
“The work’s ongoing however we haven’t discovered the best various but,” Mozilla stated in an emailed assertion. “Our clients’ information stays secure, and for the reason that product offers a whole lot of worth to our subscribers, we’ll proceed to supply it throughout this course of.”
It’s a win-win for Mozilla that they’ve acquired accolades for his or her principled response whereas persevering with to associate with Onerep virtually a 12 months later. But when it takes so lengthy to discover a appropriate alternative, what does that say in regards to the private information removing business itself?
Onerep seems to be working in partnership with one other problematic people-search service: Radaris, which has a historical past of ignoring opt-out requests or failing to honor them. Every week earlier than breaking the story about Onerep, KrebsOnSecurity revealed analysis exhibiting the co-founders of Radaris have been two native Russian brothers who’d constructed an enormous community of internet affiliate marketing packages and shopper information dealer companies.
Attorneys for the Radaris co-founders threatened to sue KrebsOnSecurity except that story was retracted in full, claiming the founders have been actually Ukrainian and that our reporting had defamed the brothers by associating them with the actions of Radaris. As an alternative, we revealed a follow-up investigation which confirmed that not solely did the brothers from Russia create Radaris, for a few years they issued press releases quoting a fictitious CEO looking for cash from buyers.
A number of readers have shared emails they acquired from Radaris after trying to take away their private information, and people messages present Radaris has been selling Onerep.
An e-mail from Radaris selling Onerep.
