...The latest documents show that "the unique identifiers that are being placed on users' computers are not only being used by analytic and advertising companies, but also being used by the NSA for targeting"...WaPo
This time it's a set of slides showing how NSA uses cookies to keep tabs on us online.
The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using "cookies" and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance.
The agency's internal presentation slides, provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, show that when companies follow consumers on the Internet to better serve them advertising, the technique opens the door for similar tracking by the government. The slides also suggest that the agency is using these tracking techniques to help identify targets for offensive hacking operations. ...WaPo
As the Post points out, this is bound to make things more difficult for corporate spies. There's something particularly sinister about the powerful combination of corporation and central government monitoring our actions, our thoughts, and our choices.
Get government out of our online communications and get transnational corporations off our backs at the same time. We could use less "remote exploitation."
The intelligence agencies have found particular use for a part of a Google-specific tracking mechanism known as the “PREF” cookie. These cookies typically don't contain personal information, such as someone's name or e-mail address, but they do contain numeric codes that enable Web sites to uniquely identify a person's browser.
In addition to tracking Web visits, this cookie allows NSA to single out an individual's communications among the sea of Internet data in order to send out software that can hack that person's computer. The slides say the cookies are used to "enable remote exploitation," although the specific attacks used by the NSA against targets are not addressed in these documents. ...WaPo
We really do have something to worry about when we find ad hoc teamwork -- on the part of corporate plus government hackers -- tracking pretty much everything we do and think. And, of course, the risks extend into our lives from way beyond our laptops.
Many smartphone apps running on iPhones and Android devices, and the Apple and Google operating systems themselves, track the location of each device, often without a clear warning to the phone's owner. This information is more specific than the broader location data the government is collecting from cellular phone networks, as reported by the Post last week.
"On a macro level, 'we need to track everyone everywhere for advertising' translates into 'the government being able to track everyone everywhere,'" says Chris Hoofnagle, a lecturer in residence at UC Berkeley Law. "It's hard to avoid." ...WaPo
I bought myself a Kindle for Christmas. Wow. Look at the app I can get for it!
Product Features
- Wi-Fi Trangulation - Records every Wi-Fi hotspot that your Kindle Fire connects to
- Free Tracking - Free online location monitor service through our web site (http://www.FollowMee.com). No monthly or annual fee. Standard Version users can view past location of last 7 days
- Geo-Fencing - You will receive notification email when your device exits or enters the geo-fence
- Location Sharing - Generate a URL to link to your current location. Share your location by emailing people the URL or embed it in Facebook or your own web site
- Multiple Devices - You can manage multiple devices in one account. This allows you to show all your devices on the same map
- Multiple Mobile Platforms - Other mobile platforms (Apple iOS, Android, and Blackberry) are available in our web site
- Stealth Mode - Standard Version users can hide the app and make it invisible from the device screen
- Location Download - Standard Version users can download their past tracks in HTML, CSV, and KML file formats
I'm just another lucky American consumer.
