I work at ISP company. They asked all of the employees to reveal the MAC addresses of their smart phones and the android/iPhone version. They told us that they collect data for a new project that they work on. This isn't convincing for my colleagues and me.

I think this is for security reasons and we will be under surveillance. Is it safe to give it to them? What could be the true reasons?

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2 Answers

They could ask for your MAC address to permit only certain phones to access the company network. That can be done by secure password as well.

So, from my point of view, if this is your personal phone (not reimbursed at all) they have no business asking, especially for their own research.

If they own any part of your phone (money reimbursement) that is different and they may be within their rights

Also, if the only way you can connect is by MAC, they can also ask. But that is not a new "project".

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I would argue yes, its OK because -

A MAC address is only usable/visible to machines on the same subnet - ie they can only tell what you are doing when you connect TO THEIR NETWORK.

Your MAC address does not enable them to see any traffic they would not otherwise be able to see or give them any ability to control your devices except when connection to your network.

If they wanted to, they could get this anyway - you can't connect to an Ethernet/WiFi network without a MAC (but you can make one up). Their equipment associates a MAC address with an IP address, and they can use the IP address they assign you to work out where you are going and give strong hints to who you are.

There is one more thing to know - the first 3 sets of numbers in a MAC address can be used to get an indication of the manufacturer of your device (but not model).

A MAC is a useful identifier. It is required for networking but its not an invasion of privacy, and is little different to a loyalty card from a supermarket in risk/security/privacy implications.