TheStandard.com: Privacy Report Criticizes 'Infomediaries' Privacy from Companies8/3/2000; 9:16:41 AM 'A new report released by Internet security firm Interhack, based in Columbus, Ohio, warns that the practice of outsourcing data collection on the activities of Web site visitors creates significant potential for privacy breaches. 'The report takes several e-commerce Web sites to task, as well as Coremetrics, the firm that collects and analyzes their customer information. But concern about outsourced data collection is applicable to any company that serves as an "infomediary" between the customer and the Web site.'Links The Standard Didn't Think You'd Need:

• The press release announcing the report
• The report, Getting to Know You (Intimately): Surreptitious Privacy Invasion on the E-Commerce Web
• Coremetric's response
• Interhack's response

In particular, the response contains important clarifications of what Interhack was trying to say. In light of the response, I have to agree with the point Interhack was trying to make: Only our trust in CoreMetrics prevents them from perform exquisitely detailed tracking... and many people are forced to so trust them against their knowlege.