Application security, Network Security

Cambridge Analytica under scrutiny in House committee Russian probe

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Cambridge Analytica, the data firm partially owned by former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and widely credited with helping Donald Trump gain the presidency, is handing over relevant documents to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as it probes potential collusion between Russia and members of the Trump team.

The company, whose investors include not only Bannon but also billionaire and Trump supporter Robert Mercer, amassed and analyzed data from numerous sources, including social media, to develop psychological profiles of voters. Since, more recently, Facebook and other social media firms have uncovered evidence that Russia used their platforms to spread propaganda and influence the 2016 presidential election, lawmakers are taking a closer look at Cambridge Analytica, according to a Daily Beast report.

“As one of the companies that played a prominent role in the election campaign, Cambridge Analytica has been asked by the House Intelligence Committee to provide it with information that might help its investigation. We believe that other organizations that worked on the campaign have been asked to do the same,” the Daily Beast cited a Cambridge Analytica statement as saying. “As you know, CA is not under investigation, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the company.”

The company is a target of a probe by the U.K,'s data protection watchdog, Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), into how political organizations keyed in on voters after revelations surrounding the Brexit referendum, revealed novel, and deeply controversial, new uses of data to target voters. 

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