Nostr notes by Wolfie Christl

The above investigation was supported by me and the University of ...

2026-06-02T11:52:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…xxlk
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The above investigation was supported by me and the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab.

We recently published a massive report on the ad-based mass surveillance system Webloc and its uses in the US, El Salvador and Hungary:
https://mastodon.social/@wchr/116375617333864571

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern LKA did not disclose who they bought from.

quoting
note1waz…htva

We publish a major Citizen Lab report on Webloc, an ad-based mass surveillance system that monitors the movements and personal characteristics of hundreds of millions people globally based on data obtained from mobile apps and digital advertising.

Customers include ICE, El Salvador and Hungary.

Our research shows that ad-based surveillance is now used by military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies down to local police in several countries.

Full report here:
https://citizenlab.ca/research/analysis-of-penlinks-ad-based-geolocation-surveillance-tech/

Whoever provided the data to LKA Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the data ...

2026-06-02T11:50:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…d2na
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Whoever provided the data to LKA Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the data provider and its suppliers also lack a lawful basis to process and share personal data from mobile apps and digital advertising with German police under the GDPR. I further discussed this here:
https://mastodon.social/@wchr/116403306330427864

Put differently, German police unlawfully used data that was unlawfully processed and shared by many parties from apps to data brokers to surveillance tech firms.

quoting
note12l0…lsz6

RE: https://mastodon.social/@wchr/116375617333864571

Our findings on the use of ad-based surveillance in Europe raise the question:

Can surveillance firms lawfully obtain billions of location records tied to device identifiers from apps installed on phones under the GDPR?

I doubt it.

The tech used in Hungary and by other potential customers in Europe and the UK relies on the systematic misuse of personal data originally processed by mobile apps for app operation or advertising purposes for an entirely different purpose: government surveillance.
note1waz…htva

So, it is likely that more than one German state police dept ...

2026-06-02T11:48:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…4jw6
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So, it is likely that more than one German state police dept bought ad-based surveillance tech, which typically involves data on millions of people secretly gathered from their phones.

Not a single German state data protection authority (out of 16) sees a lawful basis for the police utilizing this data, according to their statements.

and Bayerischer Rundfunk sent freedom of information requests and ...

2026-06-02T11:44:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…e9uj
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and Bayerischer Rundfunk sent freedom of information requests and media inquiries to all 16 German state LKAs:

- LKA Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: confirmed the (past) use of advertising data
- LKA Brandenburg: confirmed the use of 'commercial data'
- LKAs in 5 states: we don't use advertising data
- LKAs in 9 states: we won't tell you, neither confirm nor deny

At least one German state-level criminal police department (LKA) ...

2026-06-02T11:42:40Z

At least one German state-level criminal police department (LKA) purchased location data from digital advertising for surveillance, despite lacking a lawful basis, prompting an investigation by the state's data protection authority.

Highly problematic on many levels:
https://netzpolitik.org/2026/daten-schwarzmarkt-deutsche-polizei-nutzt-offenbar-rechtswidrig-databroker/

Their letter is quite explicit about Apple, Google and Chrome: - ...

2026-05-28T13:25:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…6wps
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Their letter is quite explicit about Apple, Google and Chrome:

- Both Apple iOS and Google Android were "designed" to "assign a unique tracking number to each smartphone for use by the advertising industry and data brokers".

- Google Chrome, as a web browser that is "designed to facilitate data collection", must be removed from all US military devices.

Here's our 2023 report on how "data about American ...

2026-05-28T13:21:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…ccgk
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Here's our 2023 report on how "data about American defense personnel and political leaders flows to foreign states and non-state actors":
https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/americas-hidden-security-crisis/

In a letter, Wyden and other congress members write that the DoD "has not taken basic steps to protect U.S. military personnel from the serious … threat posed by the collection and sale of personal information". Instead, it has "encouraged the growth of this industry by buying location data" from data brokers:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28168364-ron-wydens-may-28-2026-letter-to-the-department-of-defense/

"U.S. forces deployed to war zones have been targeted ...

2026-05-28T12:54:20Z

"U.S. forces deployed to war zones have been targeted using commercially available location data"

Just like I, Johnny Ryan (npub1quj…2gp0) and others warned.

US Senator Wyden says it's time to "start treating the adtech industry as a national security threat". Agreed.
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/pentagon-says-us-military-personnel-are-reportedly-being-targeted-using-location-2026-05-28/

Last week, we at The Citizen Lab and VSquare exposed Hungarian ...

2026-04-17T13:24:29Z

Last week, we at The Citizen Lab and VSquare exposed Hungarian intelligence’s use of Webloc, an ad-based surveillance system based on mobile app data.

Update: The Hungarian GDPR regulator told us it's launched an investigation into the matter. A great first step.

I hope Hungary's new govt secures the mandate and independence of its regulator.

Other European data protection authorities must follow and investigate ad-based surveillance firms and their data supply chains:
https://mastodon.social/@wchr/116403306330427864

Here's what start.io offered via the German data broker ...

2026-04-17T08:42:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…vvd7
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Here's what start.io offered via the German data broker Datarade until 2025:

* 10 billion daily location records plus audience/profile data harvested from 2.4 billion mobile devices ("MAU") via 500k apps

https://web.archive.org/web/20250211184839/https://datarade.ai/data-providers/startapp-soda/profile

According to the detailed 2022 offer page, the data contained a timestamp, Advertising ID, GPS location, IP, Wi-Fi data and device info. I was obtained from start.io's "private in-app SDK and direct integrations":
https://web.archive.org/web/20221020131708/https://datarade.ai/data-products/startapp-raw-location-data

I bet almost nobody using apps that contain Startapp's ...

2026-04-16T14:26:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…v32z
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I bet almost nobody using apps that contain Startapp's tracking code has ever heard of the company, let alone consented to how it exploits their data.

Whether it has ever provided data to Webloc or not (we don't know), GDPR regulators, the FTC, Google and Apple must investigate its data practices.

In a nutshell, Startapp/start.io is a major third-party tracking ...

2026-04-16T14:25:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…yrtr
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In a nutshell, Startapp/start.io is a major third-party tracking vendor harvesting data from up to a billion smartphone users via mobile apps.

According to Exodus Privacy, its SDK is currently embedded in 4,266 mobile apps:
https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/trackers/195/

Startapp, founded in Israel and renamed start.io in 2021, ...

2026-04-16T14:24:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…zjv4
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Startapp, founded in Israel and renamed start.io in 2021, operates software for advertising and data collection that is embedded in thousands of apps (https://www.start.io/about-us/), a so-called mobile SDK.

According to its website, it delivers “hundreds of millions of ads per day across thousands of global leading apps” and has access to “more than 100 billion first-party data signals per day across the globe”. Marketers can "use these anonymized signals to understand and predict consumer behavior”.

We can draw only very limited conclusions from these findings, ...

2026-04-16T14:17:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…9pcw
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We can draw only very limited conclusions from these findings, which is why we didn't include them in the report:

* The segments shown in a Webloc screenshot from a 2021 document are related to segments sold by Startapp via Xandr in 2021.

* We don't know whether Startapp ever provided data to Webloc.

Also, a person who previously headed Startapp's partner ...

2026-04-16T14:16:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…7ekv
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Also, a person who previously headed Startapp's partner network and ad exchange, built on data about 1 billion mobile users, joined Webloc developer Cobwebs Technologies in 2020 to launch "big data intelligence products for the public sector", according to his LinkedIn. Since 2023, he has been Penlink's VP Product.

Years ago I discovered a file that contains metadata on 650k ...

2026-04-16T14:15:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…7pwf
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Years ago I discovered a file that contains metadata on 650k segments sold by hundreds of commercial data providers via the ad platform Xandr in 2021, maybe the largest public resource on global consumer data brokerage:
https://wolfie.crackedlabs.org/en/xandrfile

My analysis of segment names shows that there's only a single data provider in this 2021 file that provided segments identical to those shown in the 2021 Webloc screenshot: start.io, formerly Startapp, a company that harvests data from apps via its SDK.

Last week, we published a Citizen Lab report on the ad-based ...

2026-04-16T14:14:11Z

Last week, we published a Citizen Lab report on the ad-based location surveillance system Webloc, its capabilities and its customers (https://citizenlab.ca/research/analysis-of-penlinks-ad-based-geolocation-surveillance-tech/).

Webloc obtains data from consumer apps installed on phones. How? We don't know.

But the ad targeting segments shown in this 2021 Webloc screenshot caught my eye:

RE: https://mastodon.social/@wchr/116375617333864571 Our findings ...

2026-04-14T13:31:37Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@wchr/116375617333864571

Our findings on the use of ad-based surveillance in Europe raise the question:

Can surveillance firms lawfully obtain billions of location records tied to device identifiers from apps installed on phones under the GDPR?

I doubt it.

The tech used in Hungary and by other potential customers in Europe and the UK relies on the systematic misuse of personal data originally processed by mobile apps for app operation or advertising purposes for an entirely different purpose: government surveillance.

quoting
note1waz…htva

We publish a major Citizen Lab report on Webloc, an ad-based mass surveillance system that monitors the movements and personal characteristics of hundreds of millions people globally based on data obtained from mobile apps and digital advertising.

Customers include ICE, El Salvador and Hungary.

Our research shows that ad-based surveillance is now used by military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies down to local police in several countries.

Full report here:
https://citizenlab.ca/research/analysis-of-penlinks-ad-based-geolocation-surveillance-tech/

This screen, from a leaked 2021 document, shows how Webloc ...

2026-04-09T16:19:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…y9n6
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This screen, from a leaked 2021 document, shows how Webloc tracked a person travelling from Germany via Austria to Hungary.

The system obtains the data from everyday consumer apps installed on phones. The data is tied to mobile device IDs typically used for ad targeting, which identify a phone and its owner.

The systematic misuse of this data for tracking and profiling in digital marketing is already highly problematic. Misusing it for government surveillance is another level of disastrous.

i and my colleagues at the University of Toronto's Citizen ...

2026-04-09T16:15:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…y7xg
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i and my colleagues at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab spent months investigating Webloc, its capabilities and customers, based on public records, leaked docs, freedom of information requests and technical analysis.

Webloc is an add-on to the social media and web intelligence system Tangles, both developed by Israeli Cobwebs Technologies and since 2023 sold by US-based vendor Penlink.

Alongside our report, Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Panyi ...

2026-04-09T16:12:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…v8n6
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Alongside our report, Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Panyi publishes a VSquare investigation which reveals that Hungarian domestic intelligence has used Webloc since at least 2022, and still does today.

This is the first confirmation of the use of ad-based surveillance technology in Europe:
https://vsquare.org/orban-spying-toolkit-cobwebs-webloc-hungary-spyware-citizen-lab

We publish a major Citizen Lab report on Webloc, an ad-based mass ...

2026-04-09T16:09:56Z

We publish a major Citizen Lab report on Webloc, an ad-based mass surveillance system that monitors the movements and personal characteristics of hundreds of millions people globally based on data obtained from mobile apps and digital advertising.

Customers include ICE, El Salvador and Hungary.

Our research shows that ad-based surveillance is now used by military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies down to local police in several countries.

Full report here:
https://citizenlab.ca/research/analysis-of-penlinks-ad-based-geolocation-surveillance-tech/

"Companies are offering law enforcement agencies the ability ...

2026-01-22T10:54:09Z

"Companies are offering law enforcement agencies the ability to track smartphone users through advertising data gathered on their devices. Le Monde attended confidential presentations of these new surveillance tools ... According to Le Monde's analysis, around 15 companies, at least, now propose such services"

...feat Penlink, RCS, Wave Guard, Rayzone, Cognyte:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2026/01/22/how-surveillance-companies-track-smartphone-users-through-advertising-data_6749674_13.html

"Using easily accessible advertising data, Le Monde was able ...

2025-12-18T10:42:44Z

"Using easily accessible advertising data, Le Monde was able to pinpoint the identities, home addresses and daily routines of several dozen people working for sensitive official entities" including French intelligence officers, Macron staff, officers at elite polite units, military personnel at nuclear weapons bases, defense company executives, prison staff, nuclear power plant staff.

Digital advertising is a threat to national security, exhibit X.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2025/12/13/how-french-spies-police-and-military-personnel-are-betrayed-by-advertising-data_6748453_13.html

I've been wondering for years how the majority of ...

2025-11-27T15:41:06Z

I've been wondering for years how the majority of not-totally-cynical adtech practitioners justify their role in the daily amassing of extremely invasive data on the lives of millions of people. But what's truly beyond my understanding are those who knowingly help sell advertising data to government surveillance programs and other nefarious actors.

After an on-site audit, the Berlin GDPR regulator found that ...

2025-06-17T21:49:03Z

After an on-site audit, the Berlin GDPR regulator found that Berlin-based location data broker Adsquare has been processing personal data unlawfully at scale, as disclosed in its annual report and confirmed to netzpolitik org. The regulator is currently assessing a possible fine.

I first came across Adsquare in 2018 and consider it a major node in EU/US data brokerage, with links to shady actors who sold advertising data to military contractors.

https://www.datenschutz-berlin.de/jahresbericht-2024#_idTextAnchor062
https://netzpolitik.org/2025/nach-unserer-berichterstattung-datenschutzbehoerde-findet-verstoesse-bei-berliner-werbefirma/

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a firm owned by 9 airlines ...

2025-05-12T14:59:22Z

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a firm owned by 9 airlines from US, Canada, Germany, France that acts as an aviation industry clearinghouse and processes data on 12 billion passenger flights per year ("54 percent of all flights taken globally"), is selling to ICE:
https://www.levernews.com/airlines-are-collecting-your-data-and-selling-it-to-ice/

Put differently, a firm co-owned by EU airlines like Lufthansa and Air France is selling massive personal data to US government agencies.

Article republished without paywall here:
https://jacobin.com/2025/05/airlines-data-ice-trump-immigration

Personal news. I'm joining @npub12h8…ac3t as a research ...

2025-03-06T20:40:39Z

Personal news. I'm joining The Citizen Lab (npub12h8…ac3t) as a research fellow to further investigate how state and malicious actors buy commercial data from digital marketing and consumer apps for surveillance purposes.

I'll stay in Vienna and keep doing other work, but I'm excited to work together with the excellent team at Citizen Lab on the topic in the next 12 months!

Here's one of my slides on 'two flavors of techbro AI ...

2025-01-18T17:15:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…f0x0
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Here's one of my slides on 'two flavors of techbro AI cultism' 🤖

I prepared a 45-60min lecture for the workshop. I guess I could ...

2025-01-18T17:14:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…e6ka
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I prepared a 45-60min lecture for the workshop.

I guess I could also do this elsewhere in the art context or for related audiences, either as a talk or as a 2-3 hour workshop with discussions ... preferably in the physical space & with some funding :)

...this is much less about precise tech and policy analysis than my usual work—it's more political and a mix of educational effort with big-picture reflections. And it's a work in progress, feel free to suggest additional/better resources.

The workshop was quite a ride, and so is the reading list 🤖 - ...

2025-01-18T17:13:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…7q45
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The workshop was quite a ride, and so is the reading list 🤖

- Fake AI and the hype machine
- AI phrenology and pseudoscience
- History of computation, classification and prediction
- Automating inequality, discrimination and despotism
- Generative AI explainers and criticism
- The political economy of generative AI
- Energy consumption
- Appropriation of cultural knowledge
- AI sweatshops
- The rise of tech fascism
- Neo-luddism & other takes against/beyond actually-existing digital technology

So yesterday I held this workshop on "everything artists and ...

2025-01-18T17:10:41Z

So yesterday I held this workshop on "everything artists and cultural practitioners need to know about this strange thing called AI", titled "debunking the tech-bro AI cult", in the Brut Vienna theatre, and here's the 5-page reading list I compiled for participants:
https://crackedlabs.org/dl/TechbroAICult_Readinglist.pdf

Remember Google's great 'we will end third-party cookies ...

2024-12-29T13:14:20Z

Remember Google's great 'we will end third-party cookies in Chrome' swindle:

- Jan 2020: we will 'phase out' third-party cookies 'within 2 years' (https://blog.chromium.org/2020/01/building-more-private-web-path-towards.html)

- Jun 2021: we will 'end' doing so in late 2023 (https://blog.google/products/chrome/updated-timeline-privacy-sandbox-milestones/)

- Jul 2022: we may 'begin' doing so in late 2024 (https://blog.google/products/chrome/update-testing-privacy-sandbox-web/)

- Jul 2024: third-party cookies are staying in Chrome (https://privacysandbox.com/intl/en_us/news/privacy-sandbox-update/)

Volkswagen left an unprotected database with up to two years of ...

2024-12-28T23:15:54Z

Volkswagen left an unprotected database with up to two years of sensitive personal data on 800k networked VW, Seat, Audi and Skoda cars accessible online, including names, user IDs, sensor and geolocation data.

CCC talk by Flüpke (npub1q6j…kcru) and Michael Kreil (npub1m90…f3v4) (in German):
https://streaming.media.ccc.de/38c3/relive/598

Spiegel article:
https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/volkswagen-konzern-datenleck-wir-wissen-wo-dein-auto-steht-a-e12d33d0-97bc-493c-96d1-aa5892861027

Die Microsoft-Softwarepakete Purview und Sentinel können im ...

2024-12-17T11:04:30Z

Die Microsoft-Softwarepakete Purview und Sentinel können im Namen von Cybersecurity+Compliance alles überwachen, was Beschäftigte sagen und tun.

KI-basiertes Profiling auf Basis von Kommunikations- und Verhaltensdaten soll verdächtige Beschäftigte identifizieren, die den Betrieb als "Insider" von innen bedrohen. Risiken sollen erkannt werden, bevor Vorfälle eintreten.

Ich hab mit heise online (npub14kg…4yra) ausführlich über meine kürzlich veröffentlichte Studie zum Thema gesprochen:
https://www.heise.de/hintergrund/Die-digitale-Buechse-der-Pandora-Wie-Konzerne-ihre-Mitarbeiter-ueberwachen-10202107.html

Boeing began installing "motion detectors and cameras mounted ...

2024-12-09T18:12:54Z

Boeing began installing "motion detectors and cameras mounted in ceiling tiles above workstations, conference rooms and common areas" that track employees in offices.

Creeped-out employees tipped off The Seattle Times, who reached out to Boeing, which shut the program down 🤖
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-pauses-surveillance-plan-to-track-employees-at-the-office/

My new case study published today explores behavioral monitoring ...

2024-11-26T13:43:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…wesx
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My new case study published today explores behavioral monitoring and profiling in the workplace, with a focus on indoor location and desk occupancy tracking. It's part of a larger research project on employee surveillance.

Read the full 25-page study here:
https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/indoortracking

The network technology giant Cisco offers to turn Wi-Fi access ...

2024-11-26T13:42:14Z

The network technology giant Cisco offers to turn Wi-Fi access points installed in offices and other buildings into a system that tracks the location of employees, customers, smartphones, laptops and other devices for a wide range of purposes #workersurveillance

I took a deep dive ⬇️ [thread]

It is a dark day, also for the idea of democratizing digital ...

2024-11-06T12:42:18Z

It is a dark day, also for the idea of democratizing digital infrastructure in the US through politics, regulation and institutions, and through curbing the power of the tech industry.

If anything, the Trump-Musk oligarchy will likely use what the FTC, DOJ, CFPB and others have started in recent years selectively against their opponents.

The EU, itself infiltrated by corrupt corporate interests, geopolitical 'constraints' and authoritarian zealots, remains the only potential global actor here.

Revisiting 2 of the 5 docs from the Snowden leaks that mention ...

2024-09-05T16:04:26Z

Revisiting 2 of the 5 docs from the Snowden leaks that mention 'cookies'.

GCHQ 2009 on 'target detection identifiers':
https://snowden.glendon.yorku.ca/items/show/188/

NSA 2011 on 'selector types':
https://snowden.glendon.yorku.ca/items/show/172

...featuring cookie/browser IDs from Google/Doubleclick, Facebook, Microsoft and many more.

It's breathtaking how the surveillance marketing industry has still managed to claim for many years that unique personal identifiers processed in the web browser are 'anonymous', and sometimes still does.

"Seems like more people should be talking about how a ...

2024-09-04T19:54:46Z

"Seems like more people should be talking about how a libertarian charter city startup funded by Sam Altman, Marc Andreessen, and Peter Thiel is trying to bankrupt Honduras. Próspera is suing Honduras to the tune of $11B (GDP is $32B) and is expected to win, per the NYT"

Via [thread]:
https://x.com/GarrisonLovely/status/1831104024612896795

Foreign Policy article:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/24/honduras-zedes-us-prospera-world-bank-biden-castro/

NY Times article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/magazine/prospera-honduras-crypto.html

(both articles available via archive .is)

Forcepoint was until recently owned by defense giant Raytheon. ...

2024-08-27T21:10:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…7fx8
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Forcepoint was until recently owned by defense giant Raytheon. Its behavioral surveillance tech was initially funded by the CIA's venture capital firm In-Q-Tel.

A co-founder of RedOwl which later became Forcepoint Behavioral Analytics is a former US army intelligence and NSA officer who was previously the CEO of Berico, which was involved in a large-scale plan to discredit labor unions in the US.

Overall, Forcepoint claims to analyze 5 billion activity records per day from 900 million devices.

The system uses 'behavioral risk models' to assess ...

2024-08-27T21:04:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…qsv4
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The system uses 'behavioral risk models' to assess whether employees are in financial distress, show 'decreased productivity' or intend to leave the job, how they communicate with colleagues and whether they access 'obscene' content or show 'negative sentiment' in their communications.

Here's a list of built-in risk models, see p. 16 in my report:
https://crackedlabs.org/dl/CrackedLabs_Christl_SecurityRiskProfiling.pdf

Based on behavioral profiling, Forcepoint's technology ...

2024-08-27T21:01:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…5rhx
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Based on behavioral profiling, Forcepoint's technology continuously calculates risk scores for employees, singles out those who are assessed as suspicious, ranks them by risk and raises alerts.

To identify 'anomalous' behavior, it can analyze behavioral data on many or all employees, which is recommended by Forcepoint.

Forcepoint's systems can analyze: - data from employee ...

2024-08-27T20:59:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…s4c7
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Forcepoint's systems can analyze:

- data from employee computers/devices, e.g. file, web, app, clipboard, keyboard, screen activity
- employee communication contents, e.g. email, chat, voice calls
- networking data, e.g. firewall, proxy
- performance reviews from HR systems
- data on physical access to buildings and rooms via badging systems
- activity log data from many other software systems, e.g. Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP, Cisco
- external data, e.g. criminal history, financial distress

First, the report investigates insider risk and behavioral ...

2024-08-27T20:49:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…ykh7
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First, the report investigates insider risk and behavioral monitoring technology offered by Forcepoint, a major US cybersecurity vendor that is affiliated with the defense/intelligence sector.

Forcepoint promises to help organizations identify cyberattacks and employees who are considered a risk, whether by carelessness, negligence or intention.

Potential threats include “disgruntled employees” who had a “huge fight with the boss” and “internal activists” who leak information to journalists.

The report is part of a larger project which examines how ...

2024-08-27T20:34:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…7558
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The report is part of a larger project which examines how employers (mis)use worker data, funded by Austrian Arbeiterkammer:
https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work

To illustrate wider practices, the report investigates software for cybersecurity and risk profiling from two major vendors including Microsoft. While employers can use these systems for legitimate purposes, the report focuses on potential implications for employees.

The Register's Thomas Claburn (npub160w…p722) wrote about my research:
https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/27/microsoft_workplace_surveillance/

I published a new report that shows how today's cybersecurity ...

2024-08-27T20:30:24Z

I published a new report that shows how today's cybersecurity and risk profiling systems are turning into employee mass surveillance and predictive policing tools.

Based on log, device and network data,
they let companies monitor almost everything employees do or say.

We need a serious debate about what is necessary and proportionate for what purpose and about safeguards that prevent misuse.

My 76-page report focusing on software from Forcepoint/Everfox and Microsoft:
https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/securityriskprofiling

While I'm at it, every now and then we've seen alliances ...

2022-12-20T23:13:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…fwdx
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While I'm at it, every now and then we've seen alliances between civil rights organizations and platform giants on certain issues. I think, this has become increasingly problematic, and moving forward there must be a much clearer distinction from the tech industry's interests.

Big tech lobbying, revolving doors, institutional corruption etc ...

2022-12-20T22:31:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…us4k
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Big tech lobbying, revolving doors, institutional corruption etc are now happening at a scale that mirrors what big oil, tobacco, finance, defense and other industries have been doing for ages.

You cannot take funding from big tech and just claim "but I am independent" anymore.

Yep this might be a kind of a subtweet. …I've been critical ...

2022-12-20T22:15:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…nm5d
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Yep this might be a kind of a subtweet.

…I've been critical about the Google/Tech Transparency Project's lack of transparency, too. And their 2017 Google Academics project may be of limited usefulness.

But sorry this is not the main issue at stake here.
https://twitter.com/WolfieChristl/status/1368897752856461314

Tech giants are now spending hundreds of millions to ...

2022-12-20T21:32:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…6u7d
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Tech giants are now spending hundreds of millions to systematically shape policy across the world, including donations and funding to policymakers, civil society orgs, media orgs and academia.

A decade ago, this may not have been clear to everyone. Now it really should be.

I don't necessarily blame people or organizations who took ...

2022-12-20T21:24:38Z

I don't necessarily blame people or organizations who took money from Google 10-15 years ago.

But those who received funding in recent years or plan to in the future really deserve to get called out on it, and should expect it to be mentioned when their work is being discussed.