• Data Protection

  533 MILLION Facebook users with PHONES leaked online

  Posted by Sarah on 4 April 2021 at 4:01 am

  A trove of personal data, including full names, phone numbers and emails of a whopping 533 million Facebook users has reportedly been leaked online. The social media giant downplayed the incident, claiming that the data was “old.”

  A huge database that previously circulated privately, has now been published on a hacking forum for free, according to Business Insider, which first broke the news. The data dump affects people from 106 countries, including more than 32 million Americans, some 11 million UK citizens and 6 million Indians.

  The trove apparently features sensitive information ranging from emails and phone numbers to full names, Facebook IDs and biographies. The outlet verified the authenticity of some of the data by matching phone numbers with the IDs listed in the dataset.

  The social media giant, however, believes there is little reason to worry, since the data appears to be at least several years old and a part of a previously reported leak. A Facebook spokesperson, Liz Bourgeois, said on Twitter that the vulnerability that has allowed the hackers to obtain the data in the first place was successfully “fixed” back in 2019.

  A cyber security expert who discovered the leaked data, Alon Gal, believes that the real situation might not be just as blissful as the tech giant claims it to be. A Chief Technology Officer at the cybercrime intelligence firm Hudson Rock, Gal, said that the data could easily be used by malicious actors to impersonate real owners in various scam schemes.

  Don’t worry, zuckerberg will keep you data safe and your opinions crushed

  Sarah replied 3 years, 6 months ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
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