Research Shows Intent Data Vendors Sell Customer Data to Competitors

New research indicates software vendors collect more customer data than required for their services and incorporate it into commercial products sold to competitors, according to MarTech.

Research Findings

Clark Barron, founder of Blackout, examined browser code, JavaScript, network traffic, and application behavior across more than 700 vendors. His analysis identified a defeat device in one vendor's source code that performed de-anonymization of website visitors. The code called different servers depending on whether it detected inspection or automated analysis. When inspection signs appeared, tracking disabled. Barron stated that no marketing software vendors, including ABM and intent data providers, were clean.

Data Access Through Integrations

Marketing departments connect vendors to CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, customer support platforms, analytics systems, and AI tools. These connections grant vendors access to customer records, sales pipelines, service tickets, emails, and internal communications. Barron noted that intent data providers take CRM data and internal communications, launder it through aggregation systems, and sell it back to competitors. Marketers treat vendors as partners rather than security risks and lack technical expertise to verify data handling.

AI and Protocol Risks

AI expands exposure when connected systems exchange data with reduced oversight. Model Context Protocol allows AI systems to connect to external applications and data sources. Chris Penn, co-founder of Trust Insights, stated that installing an MCP connects to another computer and can enable data exfiltration if instructions are unknown. Last month HubSpot changed its terms of service to take enrichment data from one company and apply it to another company's records while automatically opting in customers. The company reversed the change after customer backlash.

Business Consequences

Vendors use collected data to build commercial products. Barron said companies contribute data that benefits competitors, causing their attribution dashboards to report inaccurately and their customer acquisition costs to rise without explanation, according to MarTech. The findings appear in the MarTech article at https://martech.org/is-your-intent-data-being-sold-to-your-competitors/.