On 8/23/14, 2:01 PM, Gregory Foster wrote:
https://github.com/matlecu/xray
XRay is a research project from Columbia University that aims to improve transparency of data usage on the web. You can learn more on our website.
...we developed XRay, a new tool that reveals which data in a web account, such as emails, searches, or viewed products, are being used to target which outputs, such as ads, recommended products, or prices. It can increase end-user awareness about what the services they use do with their data, and it can enable auditors and watchdogs with the necessary tools to keep the Web in check.
Currently, XRay can reveal some forms of targeting for Gmail ads, Amazon product recommendations, and YouTube video recommendations. However, XRay's core mechanisms are largely service-agnostic, providing the necessary building blocks that we hope will enable a new generation of auditing tools that will help lift the curtain on how users' personal data is being used.
Using our XRay Gmail prototype, we found some pretty interesting examples of data uses, such as a number of ads targeting depression, cancer, and other illnesses. We also saw quite a few subprime loan ads for used cars that targeted debt, loan, or borrow keywords in users' inboxes.
YouTube (Aug 20) - "XRay: web transparency tool": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxH20ey2d7k
HT @kdnuggets: https://twitter.com/kdnuggets/status/503198576798089216
"XRay: Enhancing the Web’s Transparency with Differential Correlation" Presented at the 23rd Usenix Security Symposium (Aug 20-22) by @matlecu, et. al. https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity14/technical-sessions/presen... paper: https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/usenixsecurity14/sec14-paper-... slides: https://www.usenix.org/sites/default/files/conference/protected-files/sec14_... NYT Bits Blog (Aug 18) - "XRay: A New Tool for Tracking the Use of Personal Data on the Web" by @SteveLohr: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/xray-a-new-tool-for-tracking-the-us... gf -- Gregory Foster || gfoster@entersection.org @gregoryfoster <> http://entersection.com/