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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

#201

Post by whiddershins »

mrtksn wrote: post #190
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,…

It's definately a breach, just not breach into Facebook's technical infrastructure. As I wrote previously, don't you think that it can be a breach in the same sense of a breach by phishing? After all, both of the cases are about people giving their "secrets" for one reason but the info being used for something else. I mean, in the case of traditional phishing the user is tricked to provide the password by impersonati…

When you call it a breach it sounds like they made a mistake.

It wasn’t a mistake. It was by design.

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

#202

Post by CiPHPerCoder »

bob_theslob646 wrote: post #71
tmalsburg2 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

This is not news. (2010)[ http://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-feds-collect-facebook-socia... ] (2010)[ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/418971/facebook-personal-... ] (2012)[ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/facebook-is... ] (2011)[ https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/ne... ] (2011)[ https://techcrunch.com/2011/11/01/researchers-flood-facebook... ] (2012)[money.cnn.com/2012/03/22/…

Fixed URL formatting so all links are clickable, and sorted roughly by year:

(2010) - http://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-feds-collect-facebook-socia...

(2010) - https://www.technologyreview.com/s/418971/facebook-personal-...

(2011) - https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/ne...

(2011) - https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/09/26/facebook-defends-get...

(2011) - https://techcrunch.com/2011/11/01/researchers-flood-facebook...

(2012) - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/facebook-is...

(2012) - http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/22/technology/facebook-privacy-...

Also, I tried unsuccessfully to convert all those URLs to use HTTPS, but it either failed to connect or the server forced me back to HTTP. That's rather sad.

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

#203

Post by domparise »

ascagnel_ wrote: post #158
na85 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I up voted because your point is relevant. However, Software development is not a Profession, in the proper use of the term. It is not self-regulating the way Medicine, Engineering, Law, and a few others are. There is no formal standard of ethical conduct in software for practitioners to use as a baseline for their own behaviour.

> There is no formal standard of ethical conduct in software for practitioners to use as a baseline for their own behaviour. Such a baseline standard _must_ exist, and _must_ be created. Every applied technology has started out with dreams to "change the world", only to have those dreams shattered by those obsessed with power. Biology? Biological weapons, nerve agents. Chemistry? Mustard gas, TNT. Physics? Nuclear we…

Assuming it _must_ exist, how can we enforce it given that anyone with an internet connection can teach themselves how to make software? There is no centralized accrediting board for programmers, and it’s not very feasible to me when there are so many self-taught programmers today.

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

#204

Post by l_t »

0942v8653 wrote: post #144
simias wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It reminds me of the Snowden leaks about mass surveillance programs like PRISM. I think most technical people expected something like that to exist ever since the internet became mainstream. Still, if it's just an "educated rumor" without hard evidence there's not much for the media to talk about. Up until now you could only say "it seems pretty likely that Facebook is doing something like that, but we don't know for…

> Some of my friends willingly opt into streaming their position in real time continuously through their smartphones How do you avoid this? I have a GPS in my car with stored routing information, but if I need to navigate for someone else or get walking/biking directions, I am forced to do this. Printing out directions beforehand is something I did only a few years ago, but these days I don't always have a chance to…

On Android, you can open your Google account settings and disable their always-on location tracking "service". Of course, you have to take Google's word for it, and that doesn't stop GPS from working for apps like Maps when you request it.

I usually leave Location services off. I'll enable them for 5-10 seconds, get the directions from Maps, then disable the Location service again. Of course, they can still estimate my location with cell towers (or WiFi, but I usually have that disabled as well), so it's not a perfect solution. Saves a lot of battery life, though.

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

#205

Post by [deleted] »

UncreativeCodar wrote: post #164
to_bpr wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're adults here but that doesn't mean we should pursue a higher level of discourse. If you want cursing or other low content, there's always Reddit.

I know it's originally from a Zuckerburg quote but the point is that if you want to call someone a dumbfuck, call them a dumbfuck. Censoring the latter half doesn't somehow elevate the discourse.

[deleted]

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

#206

Post by freeone3000 »

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?

You get to work with cool stuff and get paid money! Who cares about ethics, it's not like you suffer consequences on failure. (I'm not entirely sure the companies do either...)

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

#208

Post by matte_black »

What’s the worst that could really happen from any of this?

You’re shown a highly targeted ad that you don’t even look at anyway? Give me a break.

Manipulating elections? Elections already have tons of opportunities for manipulation across all mediums.

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

#209

Post by JabavuAdams »

zbentley wrote: post #135
flexie wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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?

> Who teaches developers that it's okay to work for anyone as long as the tech is cool and the salary is great? Who teaches them otherwise? Absent parental/primary-school-instilled ethics, rather a lot of engineers operate in a bubble of like-minded (and similarly-employed) people, making large amounts of money, and are often insulated (voluntarily, deliberately, or accidentally) from the impact of their work. What c…

Make your new hires watch the multiple camera feeds and lidar of that woman being run over again and again until they really really understand that they're working on life-critical systems.
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