All About the Facebook Hack
Facebook is in the firing line once again – this time for a security issue affecting almost 50 million user accounts. Hackers stole digital login codes letting them take over accounts in Facebook’s worst every security breach.
Attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As” – a feature that allows users to discover what their profile looks like to other people. They used Facebook access tokens, which are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged into their Facebook, to take over user’s accounts.
What Steps Have Facebook Taken?
“We’ve fixed the vulnerability and informed law enforcement” the update reads.
Facebook has fixed the access tokens of the accounts who they know where definitely affected, and they’ve also taken precautionary steps of resetting access tokens for a further 40 million accounts that have had a “View As” search in the last year.
Around 90 million people had to log back in to their Facebook account, or any of their apps that require Facebook to login. Once users have logged back in, they will receive a notification at the top of their News Feed detailing what happened.
The “View As” feature has temporarily been disabled until Facebook can thoroughly review the security.
What Have the Facebook Hackers Done with the Data?
Facebook’s investigation is still in the early stages, so they have yet to uncover whether the hacked accounts were misused or whether any information had been accessed. They are yet to know who is behind the attacks – or where they’re based.
What You Need to Do
There’s no need to change your passwords
If you’re having trouble logging back in – head over to Facebooks Help Center
For precaution, you may want to log out of Facebook – visit Security and Login to see the places you’re logged into Facebook with the option to log out of them all.
Yet again – all eyes looking towards Mark Zuckerberg –“We face constant attacks from people who want to take over accounts or steal information around the world. While I’m glad we found this, fixed the vulnerability, and secured the accounts that may be at risk, the reality is we need to continue developing new tools to prevent this from happening in the first place”
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About the author:
Marie Harwood is a Digital Marketing Assistant at Different Gravy Digital, Hale, Cheshire.
Different Gravy Digital are a full service Digital Marketing Agency operating in the Hospitality & Leisure, Financial Services, Legal & Property sectors. Products and services range from; 3D & 360° Tours, Website Design & Build, Social Media, Video Production, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Content Creation, Email Marketing, Online Feedback / Review Systems and Paid Advertising (Google, Bing and Social Media).
Contact Details:
marie@differentgravydigital.co.uk
0161 706 000
120a Ashley Road, Hale, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 2UN