In recent days the Facebook scandal has been on the table, after the filtering of data from millions of users through Cambridge Analytica. This, apparently, was the key to knowing how this information was provided to different companies so that they could elaborate their databases.
According to Forbes, a former Israeli intelligence officer, owner of the Terrogence surveillance company, was able to put together a facial recognition database called Face-Int thanks to the information obtained on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg's platform. YouTube and other sites on the network.
In the beginnings of Face-Int, Terrogence was in charge of collecting some 35,000 photos and videos with the aim of recognizing terrorist suspects. The information was supplied, together with the American company Verint, to the United States Government. The firm ensures that facial profiles are collected from online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and open and closed forums around the world.
Online intelligence
The owners of the company made it clear that it is dedicated to the operation of the so-called "virtual entities" online. With this they are able to legally access social networks and interact, managing to gain confidence or establishing connections with their users. The data obtained is valuable. In a few words, false accounts are created to extract information.
But a former employee of Terrogence said that within their roles was to participate in research of a political nature and social groups. This means that its use is not only to build a base of potential terrorist suspects.
Do not forget the launch that Verint made at the beginning of this month. The US Government company created its own facial recognition system, called FaceDetect, which not only allows people to be identified, but also adds "suspects" automatically to their observation list.