Ad-based global geolocation surveillance system Webloc leveraged by law enforcement and intelligence agencies

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1. 11.04.2026 09:02 1 articles · 4h ago

   Webloc ad-based surveillance system deployed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies globally

   Citizen Lab reports that law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the U.S., Hungary, and El Salvador have used the Webloc geolocation surveillance system to track at least 500 million devices worldwide. The system aggregates data from mobile advertising and app ecosystems to enable real-time and historical tracking, with documented use by agencies including ICE, the U.S. military, state and local police departments, and foreign intelligence services. The report notes that Webloc operates without warrants in some cases and provides capabilities to infer location from IP addresses and identify device owners via linked home and workplace addresses.

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   • Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Million Devices via Ad Data — thehackernews.com — 11.04.2026 09:02

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Information Snippets

• Webloc is an ad-based geolocation surveillance system developed by Cobwebs Technologies and now marketed by Penlink after their 2023 merger.

  First reported: 11.04.2026 09:02
  1 source, 1 article
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  • Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Million Devices via Ad Data — thehackernews.com — 11.04.2026 09:02

• U.S. customers of Webloc include ICE, the U.S. military, Texas Department of Public Safety, DHS West Virginia, NYC district attorneys, and police departments in Los Angeles, Dallas, Baltimore, Tucson, Durham, Elk Grove, and Pinal County.

  First reported: 11.04.2026 09:02
  1 source, 1 article
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  • Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Million Devices via Ad Data — thehackernews.com — 11.04.2026 09:02

• Webloc aggregates data from up to 500 million mobile devices globally, including device identifiers, location coordinates, and profile data sourced from mobile apps and digital advertising.

  First reported: 11.04.2026 09:02
  1 source, 1 article
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  • Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Million Devices via Ad Data — thehackernews.com — 11.04.2026 09:02

• The system enables historical tracking of populations up to three years, inference of location from IP addresses, and identification of device owners by linking to home and workplace addresses.

  First reported: 11.04.2026 09:02
  1 source, 1 article
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  • Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Million Devices via Ad Data — thehackernews.com — 11.04.2026 09:02

• Cobwebs Technologies was deplatformed by Meta in December 2021 for reconnaissance and social engineering operations targeting activists, opposition politicians, and government officials in multiple regions.

  First reported: 11.04.2026 09:02
  1 source, 1 article
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  • Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Million Devices via Ad Data — thehackernews.com — 11.04.2026 09:02

• Penlink claims compliance with U.S. state privacy laws and disputes the report's characterization of its operations, citing potential inaccuracies in the findings.

  First reported: 11.04.2026 09:02
  1 source, 1 article
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  • Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Million Devices via Ad Data — thehackernews.com — 11.04.2026 09:02

• Analysis identified 219 active servers associated with Cobwebs products, predominantly located in the U.S. (126), Netherlands (32), Singapore (17), Germany (8), Hong Kong (8), and the U.K. (7).

  First reported: 11.04.2026 09:02
  1 source, 1 article
  Show sources

  • Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Million Devices via Ad Data — thehackernews.com — 11.04.2026 09:02