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BT admits it used new software
to spy on hundreds of unwitting internet customers
MATTHEW HICKLEY
UK
Daily Mail
Friday, April 4, 2008
BT tested secret "spyware" on tens of thousands
of its broadband customers without their knowledge, it admitted
yesterday.
It carried out covert trials of a system which monitors every
internet page a user visits.
Companies can exploit such data to target users with tailored
online advertisements.
An investigation into the affair has been started by the Information
Commissioner, the personal data watchdog.
Privacy campaigners reacted with horror, accusing BT of illegal
interception on a huge scale. Yesterday, the company was forced
to admit that it had monitored the web browsing habits of 36,000
customers.
(Article continues below)
The scandal came to light only after some customers stumbled
across tell-tale signs of spying. At first, they were wrongly
told a software virus was to blame.
Executives insisted they had not broken the law and said no 'personally
identifiable information' had been shared or divulged.
BT said it randomly chose 36,000 broadband users for a "small-scale
technical trial" in 2006 and 2007.
The monitoring system, developed by U.S. software company Phorm,
accesses information from a computer.
It then scans every website a customer visits, silently checking
for keywords and building up a unique picture of their interests.
Full
article here.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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