The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) recently discovered a surveillance tool called Patternz that operates in the digital gray area and collects data on a shocking scale.
The Patternz monitoring tool – a new threat
Patternz uses real-time bidding (RTB) data to create detailed profiles of more than five billion people. These profiles, which contain information about locations, finances and personal preferences, are sold to data brokers.
What is particularly worrying is that Patternz can be used to track the movements and activities of individuals and their families.
The RTB data problem
RTB plays a central role in the digital advertising world. Advertisers bid for advertising space in real time and the highest bidder places their ad immediately. The problem: RTB data contains highly sensitive information.
The ICCL sees this as a serious threat to security, as such data can also contain information about important personalities and military personnel.
Global impact and insecure data paths
Companies like Google even send RTB data to players in China and Russia. In these countries, national security authorities can access this data by law. This also includes the sale of data by Russian brokers to interested parties seeking information about visitors to opposition websites.
No safe harbor for personal data
The ICCL has found that RTB systems can be found almost everywhere, even on websites used by EU military and policy makers. This makes RTB a potential threat to national security.
Even the use of “secure devices” does not protect against personal data being collected and shared via RTB systems.
Conclusion: vigilance is required
The discovery of Patternz underscores the need to be vigilant and carefully protect one's data. The case highlights that the privacy and security of billions of people are threatened by advanced surveillance technologies.
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Source: chip.de , ICCL
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