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Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

theguardian.com

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Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#121

Post by txcwpalpha »

koboll wrote: post #81
txcwpalpha wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol, "this is bad"? This is normal. I can give you an entire list of F500 companies I've worked at that have the same mindset. I've sat in meetings with F100 CIOs where they were given the same warning and shrugged it off. I've been asked before to turn off security monitoring systems because executives prefer to not know about vulnerabilities rather than know about them and not be able to fix them. The only thing sh…

>I've been asked before to turn off security monitoring systems because executives prefer to not know about vulnerabilities rather than know about them and not be able to fix them. It's a simple cost-benefit analysis. Implementing effective security is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. Ignoring problems costs nothing. Unless it's clear the cost of a breach is higher than the cost of security, corporations wil…

>Ignoring problems costs nothing.

It's not even as simple as this. Sometimes, ignoring problems can actually be cheaper. Public perception, as well as government fines, will often treat companies nicer if they were ignorant to the full breadth of security issues than if they knew about them but did nothing.

It's a failing of our system to be sure. I've been asked to stop doing a security assessment halfway through, because once the client realized that the assessment wasn't going to just be "everything is 100% A-OK!", they didn't want it to be on record. If they were breached, they didn't want any paper trail of the executives knowing about the security vulnerabilities that could increase their liability in court. They preferred to be able to claim ignorance.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#122

Post by exelius »

flexie wrote: post #48
malikNF wrote: post #3

What's utterly horrifying about this whole thing is how the media is acting as if this is some sort of surprise. Like what did you think was happening at a company collecting data about billions of people? Especially at a company that has a CEO who is famous for calling its own users dumb fu * * s? A company that experimented on at risk teens. Like come on. --edit--- Or lordy, didn't expect this comment to blow up th…

"Parakilas, 38, who now works as a product manager for Uber, ..." So from one reckless company that doesn't give a damn about the law to the next. Who teaches developers that it's okay to work for anyone as long as the tech is cool and the salary is great?

I actually know Sandy and he’s a conscientious guy who cares about this stuff. He’s a good dude who wants to make positive change by being in the conversation.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#123

Post by [deleted] »

intended wrote: post #86
freyir wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just so the quote [2004] isn't out of context: Zuckerberg: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS [Friend]: What? How'd you manage that one? Zuckerberg: People just submitted it. Zuckerberg: I don't know why. Zuckerberg: They "trust me" Zuckerberg: Dumb fucks

I mean this is HN not Reddit, so I expect most people to know the context of that comment by now (on this site) and his apology and explanation of it. On Reddit the normal person can be forgiven for not knowing the full context of quote, but this quote has come up on HN many times over many years.

[deleted]

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#124

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #8

Can we not let this become framed as a "breach"? No systems were compromised. Nothing of Facebook's was accessed that wasn't supposed to be accessed. This was data intentionally exposed by Facebook , just exfiltrated and given to an entity whom Facebook hadn't authorized. This is simply the extent to which we've permitted these Internet giants to collect information about us. It's business as usual. Edit: To clarify,…

For Facebook, an actual data breach would be better. They could button things up and make some statements and move on.

This appears to have been systemic and profitable for them because companies would turn around and pay them for highly targeted ads. They ignored it because of greed.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#125

Post by jakelazaroff »

mattkevan wrote: post #93
jakelazaroff wrote: post #8

Can we not let this become framed as a "breach"? No systems were compromised. Nothing of Facebook's was accessed that wasn't supposed to be accessed. This was data intentionally exposed by Facebook , just exfiltrated and given to an entity whom Facebook hadn't authorized. This is simply the extent to which we've permitted these Internet giants to collect information about us. It's business as usual. Edit: To clarify,…

Sounds like a breach to me. The only difference is that instead of the baddies having to sneak in carefully at night to nick stuff, Facebook said 'welcome, come on in, help yourself – here's a sack'. The end result – millions of people having their personal data used against them without their knowledge or consent - is the same.

"Breach" specifically implies that defenses were penetrated. But as you said, Facebook is not trying to protect our data.

This is far worse than if the data were taken from them unwillingly, because it vastly increases the number of entities with unfettered access to it.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#126

Post by d_theorist »

mattkevan wrote: post #93
jakelazaroff wrote: post #8

Can we not let this become framed as a "breach"? No systems were compromised. Nothing of Facebook's was accessed that wasn't supposed to be accessed. This was data intentionally exposed by Facebook , just exfiltrated and given to an entity whom Facebook hadn't authorized. This is simply the extent to which we've permitted these Internet giants to collect information about us. It's business as usual. Edit: To clarify,…

Sounds like a breach to me. The only difference is that instead of the baddies having to sneak in carefully at night to nick stuff, Facebook said 'welcome, come on in, help yourself – here's a sack'. The end result – millions of people having their personal data used against them without their knowledge or consent - is the same.

Two things can result in the same outcome without being the same thing.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#127

Post by TeMPOraL »

simias wrote: post #49

Is there any reason to believe that the situation isn't the same in, say, the Android ecosystem? In my experience many 3rd party apps require ridiculous amounts of permissions (contact list etc...) for something that's not core functionality. Surely all these free-to-play crapware games on the Android market have siphoned all the data they could and sold them to the highest bidder? Does Google do a better job of moni…

Wait until you see the video of these guys:

https://www.sentiance.com/

(via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16626752)

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#128

Post by IncRnd »

tmalsburg2 wrote: post #13
malikNF wrote: post #3

What's utterly horrifying about this whole thing is how the media is acting as if this is some sort of surprise. Like what did you think was happening at a company collecting data about billions of people? Especially at a company that has a CEO who is famous for calling its own users dumb fu * * s? A company that experimented on at risk teens. Like come on. --edit--- Or lordy, didn't expect this comment to blow up th…

As a matter of fact, this is news and surprising for most users of Facebook even if it's not for you. By saying that no one should be surprised, are you not taking the same condescending attitude that you're pointing out in Zuckerberg?

Yes, this is news. However, it really shouldn't surprise any users of facebook that facebook would find ways to monetize their data, being carelessly abusive in the process.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#129

Post by jimmy1 »

Angostura wrote: post #54
jimmy1 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No but in the grand scheme of things, things like the Yemen Civil War that has been ongoing since 2015 has gotten less attention in our media than a single Donald Trump tweet. For lack of a better word: sad!

It would be sad if you were correct, but you're not https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=yemen+civil+war

I would be optimistic if most Americans actually read the BBC ( or read, for that matter). I would venture to say most however, do not. For example, a popular right wing propaganda news source that most Americans watch has had a handful of articles this year, and skimpy coverage on air.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#130

Post by [deleted] »

IAmEveryone wrote: post #62
CptMauli wrote: post #14

tell me again why you think the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a bad idea?

I was actually surprised by the generally positive reaction the GDPR got in recent threads here on HN. I guess the suspicion of data hoarding overcame conspiracy theories about government regulation or EU protectionism. BUT it’s important to note that GDPR would probably not have had an effect on the specific situation with Cambridge Analytica. CA is obviously toast if not by law then by the attention alone. Facebook…

[deleted]
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