New “BrowserGate” report claims LinkedIn secretly scans user browsers for installed extensions and collects device data


A new report is alleging LinkedIn uses hidden JavaScript to scan its visitors’ browsers for installed extensions, looks for those that compete with its own sales tools, and then twists its users’ arms until they stop using those and pick LinkedIn’s products, instead.

However the social network says this is a smear campaign run by a disgruntled extensions developer who lost a court battle in Germany. An “association of commercial LinkedIn users” called Fairlinked e.V published a report detailing “BrowserGate” – claiming LinkedIn scans for thousands of browser extensions and ties the results to identifiable user profiles – and by scanning, LinkedIn harvests personal and corporate information.

Read more…
Source: TechRadar News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Androxgh0st malware ramps up global attacks

    April 22, 2024

    More than 600 servers worldwide have been subjected to recent attacks with the Androxgh0st malware, reports Hackread. The U.S., India, and Taiwan accounted for the bulk of the impacted servers, which were compromised by Androxgh0st malware operators through web shells deployed via the exploitation of several security vulnerabilities, including CVE-2019-2725, CVE-2021-3129, and CVE-2024-1709, a report from ...

  • ToddyCat is making holes in your infrastructure

    April 22, 2024

    Kapersky researchers continue covering the activities of the APT group ToddyCat. In their previous article, they described tools for collecting and exfiltrating files (LoFiSe and PcExter). This time, the researchers have investigated how attackers obtain constant access to compromised infrastructure, what information on the hosts they are interested in, and what tools they use to extract ...

  • UK government cannot protect businesses and services from cyber attacks

    April 22, 2024

    UK businesses are rapidly losing confidence in the government’s ability to protect them from cyberattacks. This is according to a new report from cybersecurity researchers Armis, which states that the lack of faith is higher than anywhere else in Europe. To draft the report, Armis surveyed more than 2,600 global security and IT decision-makers, and included ...

  • MITRE says it was hit by hackers exploiting Ivanti flaws

    April 22, 2024

    The not-for-profit research and development organization MITRE suffered a cyberattack early this year, with the attack apparently hindering some operations, but there was no talk of stolen data. In a breach notification published on the MITRE website late last week, CEO and president Jason Providakes explained what happened and what the organization was doing about it. Read ...

  • Leicester street lights stuck on all day due to cyber attack

    April 22, 2024

    A cyber attack targeting Leicester City Council has led to some street lights being stuck on all day. The attack crippled the authority’s services seven weeks ago and led to confidential documents being published online by the hackers, including rent statements and applications to buy council houses. Read more… Source: MSN News Sign up for our Newsletter Related:

  • Singapore: Personal information of parents, staff at 127 schools accessed in data security breach

    April 20, 2024

    A data breach at one of its vendors has resulted in the “unauthorised access” of names and email addresses of parents and staff from five primary and 122 secondary schools, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday (Apr 19). MOE said it was notified by Mobile Guardian that its user management portal had been breached ...