Surveillance tool Webloc: ADINT data moves into the private sector

• Webloc, an 'Advertising-based Intelligence' (ADINT) tool, is facing scrutiny as it expands from government surveillance to potential use by private companies.
• The tool, developed by U.S.-based Penlink, utilizes location data harvested from the advertising industry to map movement profiles of mobile devices.
• Luxury conglomerate LVMH was recently pitched the tool by a security firm but claims to have ceased all discussions once the nature of the technology was understood.

The nature of ADINT tools

• ADINT relies on billions of location pings from popular apps, which are sold by data brokers to surveillance firms.
• Webloc features a graphical interface allowing users to identify which devices were in a specific area at a given time and track their movement histories.
• Privacy researchers and experts argue that repurposing advertising data for surveillance is illegal under GDPR and fundamentally unacceptable for private business use.

Implications for security

• Investigations have shown that this data is not limited to ordinary citizens; it frequently includes the movements of military personnel, intelligence officers, and high-ranking officials.
• While civil society groups advocate for a ban on ad-based tracking to prevent these security risks, reports suggest that various government agencies are actively using ADINT tools instead.
• The potential for private companies to access such tools for corporate espionage or theft investigation marks a significant escalation in the scope of global surveillance.