FaceBook’s image on the internet to deal with the data is not at all great. Above all, Now Facebook is dealing with more than 500 million users ‘found on hacker websites. Information such as phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and email addresses such important data is leaking easily.
“If you are not paying for the product, you are the product.” this popular quote from Netflix’s 2020 documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’ totally fits the current scenario.
Read Facebook and Instagram went down
There is no doubt that Facebook has penetrated in a way that no other messaging app has managed to. The indoctrination on the platform has increased over the years. Also, Both for personal and professional communications. This is why mainstream users have stuck to the platform despite its share of controversies and outrageous practices.
Facebook’s stand on such privacy issues
Previously-leaked details from more than 500 million Facebook users have reportedly been found on a website for hackers.
According to sources, the data of some 533 million people from 106 countries were online on Saturday. Also, including more than 32 million records on users in the US. Above all, 11 million users in the UK and 6 million users in India.
Included in the data are users’ phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birth dates, bios, and — in some cases — email addresses.
The data appears to be from 2019, according to a Facebook spokesperson.
Alon Gal first discovered the information, CTO of cybercrime intelligence firm Hudson Rock, who told Business Insider that a data leak of that size would “certainly lead to bad actors taking advantage of the data to perform social engineering attacks [or] hacking attempts.”
He also called the data leak “a huge breach of trust” by Facebook and “should be handled accordingly,” although he added that there isn’t much Facebook can do other than notify users to remind them to stay vigilant from phishing scams.
Do you think about your privacy?
Facebook has been grappling with data security issues for years. In 2018, the social media giant disabled a feature that allowed users to search for one another via phone number following revelations that the political firm Cambridge Analytica had accessed information on up to 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge or consent.
In December 2019, a Ukrainian security researcher reported finding a database with the names, phone numbers, and unique user IDs of more than 267 million Facebook users — nearly all U.S.-based — on the open internet. It is unclear if the current data dump is related to this database.
The Bottom Line
The responsibility of protecting our privacy isn’t just something that should be left to companies or governments. It’s a personal duty, as much as we cannot count on police forces alone to protect our house, our assets, and our family. We need to lock our doors, install home alarms, and keep our windows closed when we’re out.
Read WhatsApp privacy policy
Nowadays Relying on the apps to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds. If you put a key under the mat for the cops, a burglar can find it too although criminals are using every technology tool at their disposal to hack into people’s accounts. If they know there’s a key hidden somewhere, they won’t stop until they find it.
