LinkedIn Sues 100 Individuals For Scraping User Data From the Site (betanews.com)
Mark Wilson, writing for BetaNews: Professional social network LinkedIn is suing 100 anonymous individuals for data scraping. It is hoped that a court order will be able to reveal the identities of those responsible for using bots to harvest user data from the site. The Microsoft-owned service takes pride in the relationship it has with its users and the security it offers their data. Its lawsuit seeks to use the data scrapers' IP addresses and then discover their true identity in order to take action against them. LinkedIn says that a botnet has been used to gain access to user data which is then passed on to third parties. The site has a number of measures in place to prevent this type of data harvesting, but it seems that scrapers have found a way to circumvent these security restrictions. A series of automated tools -- FUSE, Quicksand, Sentinel, and Org Block -- are used to monitor suspicious activity and blocking scraping.
I'll do you one better: Don't use LinkedIn.
Linked In is a public billboard. Treat it like that and this doesn't matter.
The cesspool just got a check and balance.
I'll do you one better: Don't use LinkedIn.
That was my solution. So while everyone else is running around in hair-on-fire mode, my defensive plan is to have a sandwich and then take a nap.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...