According to Facebook's statement of Facebook, reportedly over 530 million users’ data was leaked, potentially originating from the exploitation of a feature on Facebook in 2019. During this incident, the company kept it secret after identifying the damage had been done.
A Facebook spokesperson told Insider that the data had been scraped because of a vulnerability that the company patched in 2019. Business Insider announced a week ago that contact numbers and other information provided by users on their profiles were publicly accessible; anyone can access it, and it can be used easily.
According to Facebook, a “Malicious Hacker” had acquired the information before September 2019 by scraping profiles utilising a weakness in the online social media service to sync information from profiles.
A person in a low-level hacking forum on Saturday two weeks ago distributed the contact numbers and information of countless Facebook clients.
The information did not include financial information, health information, or passwords, Facebook said, but no matter what, the data leak still leaves users unsafe, security experts say.
Contact numbers are widely used to connect users to their digital accounts, including the use of two-factor authentication with the help of text messages and phone calls to verify one’s identity.
A cybersecurity expert, CyberScout founder Adam Levin, says, “Scammers can do an enormous amount with little information from us.” The information did not include financial information, health information, or passwords, Facebook said, but the data leak still leaves users vulnerable, security experts say.
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