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:

  • Flax Typhoon using legitimate software to quietly access Taiwanese organizations

    August 24, 2023

    Microsoft has identified a nation-state activity group tracked as Flax Typhoon, based in China, that is targeting dozens of organizations in Taiwan with the likely intention of performing espionage. Flax Typhoon gains and maintains long-term access to Taiwanese organizations’ networks with minimal use of malware, relying on tools built into the operating system, along with ...

  • Lazarus Group’s infrastructure reuse leads to discovery of new malware

    August 24, 2023

    In the new Lazarus Group campaign we recently disclosed, the North Korean state-sponsored actor continues to use much of the same infrastructure despite those components being well-documented by security researchers over the years. Their continued use of the same tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) — many of which are publicly known — highlights the group’s confidence ...

  • CISA Releases Six Industrial Control Systems Advisories

    August 24, 2023

    CISA released six Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on August 24, 2023. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS. ICSA-23-236-01 KNX Protocol ICSA-23-236-02 Opto 22 SNAP PAC S1 Read more… Source: U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Related story: CISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog  

  • AI and the Five Phases of the Threat Intelligence Lifecycle

    August 24, 2023

    Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) can help threat intelligence teams to detect and understand novel threats at scale, reduce burnout-inducing toil, and grow their existing talent by democratizing access to subject matter expertise. However, broad access to foundational Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) data and AI/ML technologies has quickly led to an overwhelming amount ...

  • Danish cloud host says customers ‘lost all data’ after ransomware attack

    August 23, 2023

    Cloud host CloudNordic says most of its customers have “lost all data with us” following a ransomware attack on its data center systems, including its backups. The Denmark-based cloud company said the ransomware attack began Friday, during which cybercriminals “shut down all systems,” including its website and email, and encrypted customer systems and websites. Read more… Source: TechCrunch  

  • DarkGate reloaded via malvertising and SEO poisoning campaigns

    August 23, 2023

    In July 2023, Malwarebytes researchers observed a malvertising campaign that lured potential victims to a fraudulent site for a Windows IT management tool. Unlike previous similar attacks, the final payload was packaged differently and not immediately recognizable. The decoy file came as an MSI installer containing an AutoIT script where the payload was obfuscated to avoid ...