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A French luxury goods company has reportedly used a powerful Israeli surveillance system originally reserved for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to track potential thieves after a series of thefts at one of its warehouses. The system, known as Webloc, was developed by the Israeli firm Cobwebs Technologies and later acquired by the U.S.-based company Penlink. According to investigative reports, Webloc became available to private entities in France starting in 2025, despite claims by Penlink that it was exclusively sold to state actors. Webloc operates through the mass exploitation of data collected from mobile phone users, primarily for advertising purposes. This method, referred to as Advertising Intelligence or Adint, allows the system to track the location of hundreds of millions of devices over extended periods. The technology was initially designed for use by police and intelligence services, particularly in the United States, according to a 2026 report by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which specializes in studying surveillance technologies. In early 2025, Moët Hennessy, a subsidiary of the global luxury giant LVMH, faced a string of thefts at one of its warehouses near Cognac, in the Charente region of France. Despite reporting the incidents to authorities, the company struggled to identify the perpetrators. In response, a third-party security consultant introduced Webloc to help trace the movements of individuals suspected of involvement in the thefts. The system identified mobile phones that had connected to networks at unusual times around the warehouse. It tracked these devices with high precision, revealing their paths as they left the area and moved toward other locations. One device was traced along the national road N141 before heading towards La Rochelle via the A837 highway. Another stopped in a town approximately 20 kilometers away from the warehouse. LVMH confirmed to the investigative outlet Mediapart that a third-party provider had offered this new technology to one of its external consultants specializing in security. The provider was identified as Amarante, a leading European private intelligence firm. When contacted, Amarante’s president, Alexandre Hollander, stated that his company merely engaged in informal exchanges among qualified professionals within the industry and denied selling Webloc in France. He claimed the data obtained from the Israeli program came from someone they knew and trusted, though he did not disclose the individual's identity or position. Penlink, the owner of Webloc, was also questioned about its role in facilitating access to the system in France but did not provide a response. The company had previously asserted that Webloc was only sold to government entities. Cobwebs Technologies, the original developer of Webloc, advertised in a 2021 brochure that the system could track the locations of up to 500 million mobile devices worldwide for three years. However, more recent figures have not been disclosed. The software does not directly reveal user names but instead uses unique advertising identifiers. According to the Citizen Lab report, these identifiers can often be linked back to specific individuals relatively easily. The use of such advanced surveillance tools by private companies raises concerns about privacy and the potential misuse of personal data. While the technology was initially intended for governmental use, its availability to corporate entities suggests a broader application that could impact civil liberties. The incident involving Moët Hennessy highlights how such systems can be deployed outside traditional state functions, potentially altering the landscape of digital privacy and security.