Microsoft is running one of the largest corporate espionage operations in modern history. Every time any of LinkedIn’s one billion users visits linkedin.com, hidden code searches their computer for installed software, collects the results, and transmits them to LinkedIn’s servers and to third-party companies including an American-Israeli cybersecurity firm. The user is never asked. Never told. LinkedIn’s privacy policy does not mention it. Because LinkedIn knows each user’s real name, employer, and job title, it is not searching anonymous visitors. It is searching identified people at identified companies. Millions of companies. Every day. All over the world.

Cross posted from https://lemmy.ml/post/51627192

Microsoft is running one of the largest corporate espionage operations in modern history.

Every time any of LinkedIn’s one billion users visits linkedin.com, hidden code searches their computer for installed software, collects the results, and transmits them to LinkedIn’s servers and to third-party companies including an American-Israeli cybersecurity firm.

The user is never asked. Never told. LinkedIn’s privacy policy does not mention it.

Because LinkedIn knows each user’s real name, employer, and job title, it is not searching anonymous visitors. It is searching identified people at identified companies. Millions of companies. Every day. All over the world. This is illegal and potentially a criminal offense in every jurisdiction we have examined.

  • oce 🐆@jlai.luEnglish
    15·
    17 hours ago

    The Attack: How it works

    Every time you open LinkedIn in a Chrome-based browser, LinkedIn’s JavaScript executes a silent scan of your installed browser extensions. The scan probes for thousands of specific extensions by ID, collects the results, encrypts them, and transmits them to LinkedIn’s servers. The entire process happens in the background. There is no consent dialog, no notification, no mention of it in LinkedIn’s privacy policy. … https://browsergate.eu/how-it-works/

    So Chrome based only and mostly browser extensions plus some standard device resources information.
    It shouldn’t be allowed without explicit and informed consent, but otherwise, it does not look that shocking?

      • oce 🐆@jlai.luEnglish
        2·
        16 hours ago

        You can see it on the link, but yeah, mainly the list of browser extensions and device resources like CPU, memory, display etc.

        • khannie@lemmy.worldEnglish
          5·
          8 hours ago

          “installed software” is doing a LOT of lifting in that paragraph at the top if it’s just extensions.