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

  • Jason2357@lemmy.caEnglish
    5·
    2 days ago

    Yeah, the description is misleading because anyone reading it is thinking desktop software. But… hear me out. I know that all the surveillance capitalism companies do this, but in this case it is literally pairing what is mostly corporate IT policy data (browser, hardware, OS, and extensions) with employee name, title, and employer. That does technically fit the definition of corporate espionage, and I am always open to getting more people -especially people with some levers in government- onto “our side” of the Internet privacy conflict.