Facebook has responded to privacy claims made by Belgian researchers but admitted that a “bug” may have caused inadvertent tracking of some users.
Naked Security – Sophos
A new Chrome extension highlights tools embedded in websites that could pose privacy risks by sending data unencrypted over the Internet.
It’s hard to find a major website that doesn’t use a variety of third-party tracking tools for online advertising, social media and analytics. But if the trackers send data unencrypted, it is possible for those who have network-level access—such as an ISP or government—to spy on the data and use it for their own tracking.
It’s partly the fault of websites that have not yet enabled HTTPS, which encrypts data sent between a computer and server, as well as companies that have not enabled it in their tracking tools.
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A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration program to keep tabs on cars close to the U.S.-Mexican border has been gradually expanded nationwide and is regularly used by other law enforcement agencies in their hunt for suspects.
The extent of the system, which is said to contain hundreds of millions of records on motorists and their journeys, was disclosed in documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. Much of the information disclosed to the ACLU was undated, making it difficult to understand the growth of the network, which is different from the cameras used to collect traffic tolls on expressways.
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation has published a list of tools that can block online advertising companies from collecting web browsing data in ways that privacy advocates contend are deceptive.
Computer scientist Jonathan Mayer of Stanford University and ProPublica revealed on Wednesday that an online advertising company, Turn, can re-create the history of a person’s Web browsing traffic using Verizon’s tracking system.
Verizon tracks its mobile subscribers’ web surfing by tagging their traffic at the carrier level with a number called a UIDH (Unique Identifier Header). Verizon uses the system for two of its targeted advertising programs.
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