{"id":7412,"date":"2016-11-03T14:00:18","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/netzwerkrecherche.org\/nr-termine-archive\/?p=7412"},"modified":"2016-11-03T14:12:34","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T13:12:34","slug":"journalists-under-attack-by-browser-add-ons-and-data-trading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/netzwerkrecherche.org\/nr-termine-archive\/blog\/journalists-under-attack-by-browser-add-ons-and-data-trading\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalists under Attack by Browser Add-ons and Data Trading"},"content":{"rendered":"

Netzwerk Recherche, the German association of investigative journalists, is warning journalists worldwide of an imm<\/span>ediate<\/span> threat of being spyed on by browser add-ons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investigations by NDR Television revealed that browser add-ons like “Web of Trust” are collecting user data which <\/span>are then <\/span>sold to third parties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The NDR editorial team <\/span>possesses<\/span> a data <\/span>set <\/span>that includes the browser history of approximately three million users in August 2016, including those of journalists. On the basis of the<\/span>se<\/span> data on<\/span>e<\/span> can reconstruct, for example, which <\/span>journeys <\/span>a journalist has booked and which <\/span>topic<\/span>, p<\/span>eople <\/span>or institutions he or she i<\/span>s investigating<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Data spying is a<\/span> hitherto<\/span> completely <\/span>underestimated threat to journalism<\/span>,” says Julia Stein, chair of Netzwerk Recherche. “We are calling on the judiciary to stop criminal data trafficking and to punish the perpetrators. We demand politicians to review current laws and strengthen international law enforcement.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Netzwerk Recherche recommends that journalists review their IT infrastructure for vulnerabilities. “We have to do our utmost to ensure that our sources and our research are safeguarded against attackers,” says Stein. Suspicious add-ons should be disabled. The parallel use of different browsers can be useful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional information<\/span><\/strong> (in German)<\/span>:<\/span><\/div>\n