9 in 10 Websites Leak User Data to Third Parties According to Research

The huge amount of personal data stored by major companies often feels insecure and makes internet users very suspicious when handing out sensitive information. According to Tim Libert, a privacy researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, 9 out of 10 websites leak sensitive information to third parties without user consent.  The peer-reviewed research utilized a piece of software called webXray which analyzes trackers on health and pornographic websites. In this startling piece of work, Libert said:

“Sites that leak user data contact an average of nine external domains, indicating that users may be tracked by multiple entities in tandem,”

“If you visit any of the top one million sites there is a 90 percent chance largely hidden parties will get information about your browsing,”

Libert also told Brian Merchant, Senior Editor at Motherboard:

“Most troubling is that if you use your browser setting to say ‘Do Not Track’ me, the explicitly stated policy of nearly all the companies is to flat-out ignore you,” 

“The worst perpetrator is Google, which tracks people on nearly 80 percent of sites, and does not respect DNT [Do Not Track]  signals,”

The IOCTA reported the prevalence of cyber breaches throughout Europe, which often occur on a large scale. As you can see, the amount of data compromised is very concerning and raises questions about security. The data collaborates with Libert’s research if you take into account the large amount of data breaches. Perhaps, data breaches are becoming more common because cyber-security isn’t good enough and companies are leaking data without any hesitation.