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:

  • DoppelPaymer ransomware group suspects identified

    September 20, 2023

    The German police in cooperation with the US Secret Service have executed search warrants against suspected members of the DoppelPaymer ransomware group in Germany and Ukraine. In March of 2023 the German Regional Police and the Ukrainian National Police, with support from Europol, the Dutch Police, and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), apprehended ...

  • China’s Ministry of State Security reveals US’ infiltration of Huawei traced back to 2009

    September 20, 2023

    The US’ infiltration of Huawei headquarters’ servers can be traced back to 2009, China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) said in an article released on Wednesday. The Chinese ministry disclosed despicable methods of cyber espionage adopted by US intelligence agencies, which include establishing cyberattack arsenals, coercing technology companies to cooperate, and distorting the truth to ...

  • FBI and CISA Release Advisory on Snatch Ransomware

    September 20, 2023

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are releasing this joint CSA to disseminate known ransomware IOCs and TTPs associated with the Snatch ransomware variant identified through FBI investigations as recently as June 1, 2023. Since mid-2021, Snatch threat actors have consistently evolved their tactics to take advantage of ...

  • Australia: Pizza Hut says customer data breached in cyber hack

    September 20, 2023

    The personal details of pizza lovers across Australia have been compromised in a cyber attack on Pizza Hut. The popular fast-food chain, with 251 restaurants across the country, revealed it had been hacked in an email to customers on Wednesday. “In early September, we became aware of a cyber security incident where an unauthorised third party ...

  • Cyber attack on International Criminal Court in The Hague; Hackers stole sensitive docs

    September 20, 2023

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague fell victim to a cyber attack last week, the court confirmed in a statement after reporting by NOS. A source told the broadcaster that the hackers gained access to a large number of sensitive documents, but an ICC spokesperson would not confirm that. The spokesperson told NOS that ...

  • New ShroudedSnooper actor targets telecommunications firms in the Middle East with novel Implants

    September 19, 2023

    Cisco Talos recently discovered a new malware family we’re calling “HTTPSnoop” being deployed against telecommunications providers in the Middle East. HTTPSnoop is a simple, yet effective, backdoor that consists of novel techniques to interface with Windows HTTP kernel drivers and devices to listen to incoming requests for specific HTTP(S) URLs and execute that content on the ...