Internet users is not new to ads that we can see anywhere on the internet. Companies are working to make ads more transparent so that users can make more informed decisions about whether or not to click on them, malicious advertisements that harvest information or use your device as a reconnaissance tool to perform other undesirable activities continue to pose a significant threat. It turns out that federal intelligence organizations in the United States, such as the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), are just as concerned about online advertising as the rest of us, and employ ad blockers to protect themselves.
This information is not surprising considering that we are talking about intelligence agencies. It is interesting to have more proof of the threat of harmful advertising. Senator Wyden explains how online behavior is used by ad providers to offer tailored adverts. A Senate investigation discovered that this data is also exported to “high-risk” markets like China and Russia, where it can be used for nefarious reasons, according to the senator.