Facebook breached, again!

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Facebook conjures a plethora of images the moment it is spoken of. It’s one of the most recognisable digital brands. There are 2.7 billion monthly active users at Facebook so even when something miniscule happens at the leading social media platform, the ripple effect is monumental in scale.

Another day another data security breach, right? Yes, of course, this is not surprising in our current, overwhelmed technological system. However, shouldn’t the biggest social media company in the world be held to a higher standard of protecting its customers, even if they are not the paying variety? Especially when the details, as reported by The Guardian reported include data sets from 533 million users. The personal details, available on a hacking forum, were customers’ phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates and email addresses. This is a breach of data obviously but it is a breach of every user’s trust.

According to Facebook, this was following a known leak that was fixed in 2019, fixed? Facebook have intentionally downplayed the scandal because there are harsh financial penalties in varying jurisdictions if Facebook is found non-compliant. It is a real struggle to understand the limited duty of care from Facebook to its customers following the collection of mountains of personal data. This is digital negligence with little or no consequence. Yet, as a Facebook user, you are left wide open to having personal details stolen and used for criminal activity such as digital fraud and impersonation.

Business Insider was the first source to break this latest hacking scandal. Journalist, Aaron Holmes, also referred to an exposed server in 2019, that allowed hackers to scrape phone numbers en masse. The server didn’t have a password. It was less than 2 years ago and it was 413 million Facebook users. Companies, such as Cambridge Analytica used this vulnerability in 2016 to search phone numbers and find users to target American voters in their political campaigns. Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook said it would crack down on data scraping. Hmmmmm….I have no more words. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#cccccc” up=”20px” down=”20px”][vc_column_text]Faster Networks help businesses protect their digital assets. We are a cyber security partner that brings the best software solutions that anticipate and fix digital vulnerabilities. Our areas of expertise includes Vulnerability Management, Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR), Application Security, Infrastructure Security, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection and Application Pentesting.

Contact us on +61 3 9016 0085 or send us an email to learn more about our cyber security services.

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