[ NNSquad ] Important Paper: Using Facebook Microtargeted Ads for Privacy Violations

[Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>]

Important Paper: Using Facebook Microtargeted Ads for Privacy Violations

http://j.mp/fywMKR  (Stanford [PDF])

       Abstract - In this paper we propose a new class of attacks that exploit
       advertising systems offering microtargeting capabilities in order to
       breach user privacy.  We study the advertising system offered by the
       world's largest online social network, Facebook, and the risks that
       the design of the system poses to the privacy of its users. We
       propose, describe and provide experimental evidence of several novel
       approaches to exploiting the advertising system in order to obtain
       private user information.  We communicated our findings to Facebook on
       July 13, 2010, and received a very prompt response. On July 20, 2010,
       Facebook launched a change to their advertising system that made the
       kind of attacks we describe much more difficult but not impossible to
       implement.

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--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
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Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com