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.

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.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47613981

  • Madrigal@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    9 days ago

    Still don’t really understand why browsers expose this data to sites.

    Web browsers are just such a massive security hole.

    • bleistift2@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      1·
      9 days ago

      On the contrary, websites are incredibly sandboxed. It’s damn near impossible to find out anything about the computer. Off the top of my head: Want to know where the file lives that the user just picked? Sure, it’s C:\fakepath\filename. Wanna check the color of a link to see if the user has visited the site before? No need to check. The answer will be ‘false’. Always.

      • Madrigal@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        9 days ago

        Here’s the information a web server needs to deliver content to a browser:

        • The requested resource
        • An IP address
        • User credentials (sometimes)

        Everything else is a fucking security hole. There’s no good reason for servers to know what extensions you have installed, what OS you’re running, the dimensions of your browser window, where your mouse cursor is positioned, or any one of a thousand other data points that browsers freely hand over.

        • Serinus@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          9 days ago

          There are absolutely reasons. Firefox is done by a reasonable job of anti-fingerprinting, and it’s a fine line to walk to disable as many of those indicators as possible without breaking sites.

          Browsers do give away too much, but at least Firefox is working on it. And it’s not extremely straightforward.