Integrate did not breach your data

Integrate event manager Soren Norgaard has cautioned that offers by external firms selling details of over 7,000 visitors to Integrate Expo in Australia are a hoax.

“We would under no circumstance share this data, so it must be a hoax! There seems to be an increasing number of third-party providers claiming they have the data from events such as Integrate, Infocomm, and ISE to name a few. As you know visitor data is the most important IP that organisers hold. If we shared this we might as well close shop.”

CX were offered data by a firm called Inspiun Technology Solutions LLC, registered in Wilmington, Delaware. It appears to be operated by a sole American national with an array of staff located in India.

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The offer was for “Complete list of 7,255 contacts for $0.10 per record, total cost $725.50. In this package you will also receive a free update file in 3 months (next quarter), which will help you keep your dataset nurtured for future campaign/programing’s (sic).”

Various emails from ‘Aaron Smith’ contained spelling and phrasing errors consistent with spam from India. The offer did not make sense as any ‘update file’ cannot be derived from anywhere because when you register to attend a trade show you give one set of data one time.

Included with the offer were five sample data sets from Australian AV professionals purported to attend Integrate. Along with email address, landline number, firm name and city, the ‘sample’ stupidly also contained the LinkedIn URL for each, from where it was derived. Tellingly there is no mobile number which, aside from an email address, is the more essential data collected at any trade show registration desk.

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Norgaard checked the list. “I can tell you that all the companies were represented at Integrate 2018, but there is only one match when it comes to the individual representative.”

When challenged, Aaron Smith did not respond.