Intel accused of wiretapping in class action lawsuit

The_King

Level 12
Thread author
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Aug 2, 2020
542
Back in February, Intel was accused of violating wiretapping laws with the use of keystroke and mouse movement tracking on its site. Now, the lawsuit has been moved up from Florida state court, to the federal district court of Orlando, with growing weight surrounding claims that the multi-billion dollar company employs tracking software to monitor individuals use of the website.
An article by The Register points to a court document PDF which outlines the lawsuit in more detail. It notes that Holly Londers, who brought the information to court, claims that at least a dozen of her visits to the Intel site revealed potential "tracking, recording, and/or 'session replay' software" which was used to "intercept use and interaction with the website."

 

Digerati

Level 7
Verified
Well-known
Mar 2, 2017
318
Something is weird there. If I own a site, and some one access my site, I am entitled to track what that user is doing on my site. And I am assuming the manner in which Intel and their partners use any data that is surely collected is spelled out in their privacy policy every user reads all the way through completely :rolleyes:when they open an account with Intel.

Also that PCGamer says in the first sentence that Intel is accused of tracking keystrokes. However, if you scroll down to where it talks about Blacklight, it clearly states no keystroke logging was detected. So what's the evidence?

The .pdf document talks about Intel getting a users location. That's just silly. Intel didn't probe the user's computer with spyware to collect that information. The user and the ISP gave it to Intel - an even that happens EVERY TIME you access any site. If you connect to your network via wifi, your location is provided to within a couple 100 yards - or even feet. If you connect to your network via Ethernet, the closest they know is the location of your POP (point of presence) - the physical location where your ISP connects you to the Internet backbone.

It just is not unreasonable to expect any and every site you visit logs which pages you access (or even try to access), what links you click on their site, how long you are there, the timestamp of your visit, etc. etc.

My "guess" is this suit will be tossed as another frivolous suit against a big company by a little persona or little company trying to get some media attention - a suit being egged-on by yet another shyster... err... ambulance chaser... err... esteemed lawyer :rolleyes: trying to drum up business for his or her failing practice.

Time will tell.
 

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top