Oracles BlueKai Spilled Billions Of Records Of Web-Tracking Data
Oracle’s BlueKai Spilled ‘Billions Of Records’ Of Web-Tracking Data
Jesse Damiani
Jesse DamianiContributor
Consumer Tech
I cover the human side of VR/AR, Blockchain, AI, Startups, & Media.
Oracle cloud logo is seen on an android mobile phone
KRAKOW, POLAND - 2019/01/24: In this photo illustration, the Oracle cloud logo is seen displayed on ... [+] LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES
An ad tech division at Oracle responsible for tracking approx. 1% of all web traffic exposed billions of records through an unsecured server.
According to a new report by Zach Whittaker in TechCrunch, tech giant and data-harvester Oracle has exposed billions of records of people all over the globe by leaving a server unsecured without a password.
Oracle acquired then-startup BlueKai in 2014 for over $400M, adding it to Oracle’s marketing cloud to enable “marketers to act on data across both known customers and new audiences and precisely target customers with a personalized message across all channels,” according to Steve Miranda, Oracle EVP, applications development.
BlueKai tracks users around the web through cookies and other proprietary technology. This is not limited to Oracle users. By tracking what websites people visit and which emails they open, BlueKai is able to infer a wide range of information about us—from our interests to our politics to our income. Of course, this is designed for “ideal identity resolution,” ad tech-speak for targeting users with the most optimal ads. Effectively, all these different sources of data merge to form a “unique fingerprint” of a person’s device—which itself can later be linked to other devices.
Jesse Damiani
Jesse DamianiContributor
Consumer Tech
I cover the human side of VR/AR, Blockchain, AI, Startups, & Media.
Oracle cloud logo is seen on an android mobile phone
KRAKOW, POLAND - 2019/01/24: In this photo illustration, the Oracle cloud logo is seen displayed on ... [+] LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES
An ad tech division at Oracle responsible for tracking approx. 1% of all web traffic exposed billions of records through an unsecured server.
According to a new report by Zach Whittaker in TechCrunch, tech giant and data-harvester Oracle has exposed billions of records of people all over the globe by leaving a server unsecured without a password.
Oracle acquired then-startup BlueKai in 2014 for over $400M, adding it to Oracle’s marketing cloud to enable “marketers to act on data across both known customers and new audiences and precisely target customers with a personalized message across all channels,” according to Steve Miranda, Oracle EVP, applications development.
BlueKai tracks users around the web through cookies and other proprietary technology. This is not limited to Oracle users. By tracking what websites people visit and which emails they open, BlueKai is able to infer a wide range of information about us—from our interests to our politics to our income. Of course, this is designed for “ideal identity resolution,” ad tech-speak for targeting users with the most optimal ads. Effectively, all these different sources of data merge to form a “unique fingerprint” of a person’s device—which itself can later be linked to other devices.
