Cobwebs/Penlink: Israeli Surveillance Tool Allegedly Tracking 500 Million Devices Across US, Hungary, and El Salvador
The system, named Webloc, is an ad-based global geolocation surveillance tool. It allegedly tracks location data from up to 500 million mobile devices by analyzing mobile apps and digital advertising records.
Commenters report the tool has been linked to various law enforcement bodies. Specific mentions include Hungarian domestic intelligence, national police in El Salvador, and multiple US law enforcement departments. potatoguy stated the data reveals "highly sensitive details about an individual's habits, interests, and nearly every aspect of their private life." Further pointing out lemmydev2 noted the technology moved from the Israeli firm Cobwebs Technologies to its successor, Penlink, following a July 2023 merger.
The consensus points to Webloc as a comprehensive, ad-driven surveillance infrastructure. The primary fault line is the confirmed corporate lineage, tracing the technology directly from an Israeli firm to its current marketer, implying deep integration into global monitoring practices.
Key Points
Webloc is an ad-based global geolocation surveillance system.
Innerworld detailed its functionality as a comprehensive ad-based geo surveillance mechanism.
The system collects data from massive numbers of devices.
The consensus claims tracking capacity from up to 500 million mobile devices.
The technology has an identifiable corporate origin.
lemmydev2 established the tech moved from Israeli Cobwebs Technologies to Penlink.
Multiple governments worldwide are allegedly using the tool.
lemmydev2 listed use cases involving Hungarian domestic intelligence, El Salvador police, and US law enforcement.
Data collection scope is incredibly invasive.
potatoguy warned the collected data reveals nearly every aspect of a person's private life, covering habits and interests.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.