Data Broker Tracks 200 Mobile Devices to Epstein’s Island

Wired magazine reported Thursday it had obtained data revealing 11,279 coordinates from nearly 200 mobile devices that were on sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein’s island or other properties such as his 8,000-acre New Mexico ranch or a mansion on El Brillo Way in Palm Beach, Florida.

The data, which can be revealed with a simple Google search, tracked the mobile devices of users crisscrossing the United States in 166 locations in 26 cities, most notably in states such as Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Michigan, and New York as well as mansions in Martha’s Vineyard; Nantucket, Massachusetts; a Miami nightclub; and a sidewalk near Trump Tower in New York City.

Near Intelligence, a location data broker hampered by lawsuits, collected the data before Epstein’s death.

Despite its intended use for marketing purposes, Near has been implicated in providing data to the U.S. military through complex networks involving obscure marketing firms and defense contractors, as detailed in a 2023 investigation by The Wall Street Journal.

This data was initially meant to assist companies in understanding potential customer behaviors and locations. However, revelations in October 2023 exposed Near’s involvement with the U.S. military, channeling data through various intermediaries to defense contractors like nContext, a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation. This relationship facilitated data provision in support of agencies such as the National Security Agency and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.

Wolfie Christl, a researcher at Cracked Labs, said the digital surveillance apparatus originally designed for advertising is now being repurposed for far-reaching surveillance activities tied to the government.

“The pervasive surveillance machine that has been developed for digital advertising now enables other uses completely unrelated to marketing, including government mass surveillance,” Christl said.

A map showing the data locations and movements of devices on Epstein’s island can be viewed on Wired. This data was derived from a platform formerly known as Vista, now part of a product called Pinnacle.

Meanwhile, Near has rebranded as Azira and resumed operations under the same leadership following bankruptcy proceedings.

Kathleen Wailes, a third-party spokeswoman speaking on behalf of Azira, told Wired, “Azira is committed to data privacy and responsible access to and use of location data. To this end, Azira works to track and respond to legal developments under emerging new state laws, FTC [Federal Trade Commission] guidance and prior enforcement examples, and best practices. Azira is developing procedures to protect consumers’ sensitive location data. This includes working to disable all sample offering accounts created by Near.”