One of the largest corporate espionage and data breach scandals in digital history': New "BrowserGate" report claims LinkedIn secretly scans user browsers for installed extensions and collects device data

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• Report alleges LinkedIn scans browsers for extensions
• Claims data used against competitors in “BrowserGate”
• LinkedIn denies misuse, calls accusations a smear campaign

A new report is alleging LinkedIn uses hidden JavaScript to scan its visitors’ browsers for installed extensions, looks for those that compete with its own sales tools, and then twists its users’ arms until they stop using those and pick LinkedIn’s products, instead.

However the social network says this is a smear campaign run by a disgruntled extensions developer who lost a court battle in Germany.

An “association of commercial LinkedIn users” called Fairlinked e.V published a report detailing “BrowserGate” - claiming LinkedIn scans for thousands of browser extensions and ties the results to identifiable user profiles - and by scanning ...