Test 'reveals Facebook, Twitter and Google snoop on emails': Study of net giants spurs new privacy concerns
Test 'reveals Facebook, Twitter and Google snoop on
emails': Study of net giants spurs new privacy concerns
Study set out to test confidentiality
of 50 of the biggest Internet companies
Researchers sent unique web address in
private messages through firms
They found six of the companies opened
the link from the message
By Martin Delgado
PUBLISHED: 17:37 EST, 31 August 2013 | UPDATED: 17:37
EST, 31 August 2013
More to worry about: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden,
who has revealed how far the U.S. and UK governments spy on our emails
Facebook, Twitter and Google have been caught snooping on
messages sent across their networks, new research claims, prompting campaigners
to express concerns over privacy.
The findings emerged from an experiment conducted
following revelations by US security contractor Edward Snowden about government
snooping on internet accounts.
Cyber-security company High-Tech Bridge set out to test
the confidentiality of 50 of the biggest internet companies by using their
systems to send a unique web address in private messages.
Experts at its Geneva HQ then waited to see which
companies clicked on the website.
During the ten-day operation, six of the 50 companies
tested were found to have opened the link.
Among the six were Facebook, Twitter, Google and
discussion forum Formspring.
High-Tech Bridge chief executive Ilia Kolochenko said:
‘We found they were clicking on links that should be known only to the
sender and recipient.
'If the links are being opened, we cannot be sure that
the contents of messages are not also being read.
'All the social network sites would like to know as much
as possible about our hobbies and shopping habits because the information has a
commercial value.
‘The fact that only a few companies were trapped does not
mean others are not monitoring their customers. They may simply be using
different techniques which are more difficult to detect.’
Earlier this year scientists in Germany claimed another
big computer company, Microsoft, was spying on customers using its Skype
instant messaging service.
Facebook declined to comment on the latest research but
said it had complex automated systems in place to combat phishing (internet
identity fraud) and reduce malicious material.
Twitter also declined to comment directly but said it
used robotic systems to bar spam messages from customer accounts.
A source at Google said: ‘There is nothing new here. It
simply isn’t an issue.’
An independent expert explained: ‘In principle these
companies should not be opening the links, but in practice they are giving a
service to customers.
'The protection provided outweighs any potential
commercial gain.’
Snooping or safety? Facebook and Twitter were also caught
following the links, but spokesmen for the firms claimed that they had done so
merely as part of automated spam-reduction systems to protect users.
But campaigners called for stricter safeguards.
Nick Pickles, director of pressure group Big Brother
Watch, said: ‘This is yet another reminder that profit comes before privacy
every day for some businesses.
'Companies such as Google and Facebook rely on capturing
as much data as possible to enhance their advertising targeting.
‘They intrude on our privacy to build an ever more
detailed picture of our lives.’
Comments
Post a Comment