What Is Internet Surveillance?

Date First Published: 12th March 2024

Topic: Computer Systems

Subtopic: Ethics & Sustainability

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 4/10

CONTENTS

How Is Data Tracked?
How To Minimise Internet Surveillance?

Learn more about what internet surveillance is in this article.

Internet surveillance is the act of gathering, monitoring, and logging information from online activity by a third party, such as an ISP, social media site, search engine, the government, or hackers. The information can include internet traffic, search terms, messages, emails, and social media posts.

It is almost impossible not to have any form of digital footprint or be 100% anonymous online. Everywhere users go, they leave a trace of data. This means that everything they search, every web page they visit, every ad they click on, and everything they like or share can be tracked and recorded.

To track users, the most common method is using cookies, which help remember users in various ways, including seeing personalised content based on what they previously viewed. This data can also be used to display personalised ads, which some feel can be a privacy violation. However, there are a number of steps that can be taken to protect your private information.

How Is Data Tracked?

Data can be tracked in the following ways:

ISPs - They can track unencrypted online traffic. With the IP address assigned by an ISP, all online traffic can be intercepted, which can be passed onto internet surveillance agencies if requested or sold to third parties for personalised advertising.
Search engines - They can use data for personalised advertising. Search engines may allow people to be targeted based on their browsing history. When search engines collect all the past searches, this allows advertisers to display personalised ads based on their search queries.
Websites - When visiting webpages, a digital trail is left behind. This can be tied to an IP address to track repeated visits and the data collected can be sent to web analytics services, such as Google. In addition, websites often use cookies to display personalised ads based on what users have visited before.
Governments - Major tech companies, like Google, Facebook, or Apple can be forced to cave to the demands of government agencies, like the NSA.
Hackers - Online activities can be exposed to hackers by spam and phishing. For example, spam mail can contain images that prove that the recipient has read the email. If someone downloads and runs a suspicious file, it can lead to malware infections, which can be used by hackers to get hold of sensitive information.

How To Minimise Internet Surveillance?

To minimise internet surveillance, users can:

Use a VPN - A VPN uses encryption protocols to protect user's online privacy on any website they visit. They hide the IP address so that user's locations and activities are kept private.
Use HTTPS websites - HTTPS replaced the original HTTP to secure information sent during transmission. Avoid HTTP websites as these do not encrypt traffic, making it easy for someone to read data if intercepted.
Use encrypted messaging - To ensure that personal conversations remain private when using a messaging service, ensure that the messaging app uses end-to-end encryption.
Avoid insecure actions, such as checking your bank account on public Wi-Fi, tagging your exact location when posting pictures, emailing sensitive information, or trading your email, physical address, or phone number for a special offer.
Avoid oversharing information - Oversharing can expose private information about your personal life or family matters to people that you don't know, which can make you vulnerable to users who can learn about your life and use that information against you.
Turn off location services - Location services can protect user's privacy by minimising the amount of geographical data that is shared with apps and contacts.