Details have been revealed about 'Webloc,' a service that collects location information from advertisements. It collects location information through mobile apps and web advertisements to understand almost every aspect of an individual's life, including their behavioral patterns and hobbies and preferences.



Although each piece of information obtained through advertising is anonymized, the sheer volume of data collected can eventually lead to the identification of individuals. Research institution Citizen Lab pointed out that a system called 'Webloc,' provided by a private company, is selling large amounts of data.

Uncovering Webloc: An Analysis of Penlink's Ad-based Geolocation Surveillance Tech - The Citizen Lab

https://citizenlab.ca/research/analysis-of-penlinks-ad-based-geolocation-surveillance-tech/

Orbán's Spying Kit Revealed: Israeli Surveillance Tool Combined with Hungarian Technology - VSquare.org
https://vsquare.org/orban-spying-toolkit-cobwebs-webloc-hungary-spyware-citizen-lab/

Webloc was developed by the Israeli company Cobwebs Technologies, and was acquired by Penlink in July 2023, which now handles its sales.

According to a report by Citizen Lab, Webloc collects information through advertising from up to 500 million mobile devices, integrating device identifiers, location information, and profile data. They reportedly provide customers with information going back up to three years.



Webloc has customers all over the world, and in the United States, it is reportedly used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), some state public safety agencies, police departments, and prosecutors' offices. It is also known that servers related to Cobwebs Technologies are located in many countries, including the United States and Japan.

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, pointed out that 'simply checking the weather forecast can be a way of telling people where you're going to sleep.'




An investigation conducted by independent European media outlet V Square in collaboration with Citizen Lab has revealed that the Hungarian government is a customer of Webloc. Citizen Lab states that at least three intelligence agencies under the jurisdiction of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office are using Cobwebs Technologies products, including Webloc licenses, and urges Hungarian data protection authorities to investigate the legality of the processing, as systems that rely on large amounts of personal data may be processing it illegally.

Scott Railton introduces 'ways to refuse information gathering through advertisements on your smartphone.'




In response to these reports, Penlink countered, 'The findings appear to be based on inaccurate information or misunderstandings about how we operate, including practices we have not followed since our acquisition of Cobwebs Technologies in 2023.'

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in Note,   Security, Posted by log1p_kr