UPDATED: Facebook Network is Breached, Putting 50 Million Users' Data at Risk

[DonViejo]

Source: The New York Times


By Mike Isaac and Sheera Frenkel

Sept. 28, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook said on Friday that an attack on its computer network had exposed the personal information of nearly 50 million users.

The company said it discovered the breach this week, finding that attackers had exploited a feature in Facebook's code that allowed them to take over user accounts. The company said it fixed the vulnerability and notified law enforcement officials.

"We're taking it really seriously," Mark Zuckerberg, the company's chief executive, said in a conference call with reporters. "We have a major security effort at the company that hardens all of our surfaces." He added: "I'm glad we found this. But it definitely is an issue that this happened in the first place."

More than 90 million Facebook users were forced to log out of their accounts early Friday, a common safety measure taken when accounts have been compromised.




Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/technology/facebook-hack-data-breach.html

---

Original Story:

Facebook Security Breach Affects 50 Million Users

By Associated Press

September 28, 2018 12:58 pm

NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook says it recently discovered a security breach affecting nearly 50 million user accounts.

The company says hackers exploited the "View As" feature on the service. Facebook says it has taken steps to fix the security problem and alerted law enforcement.

###

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/facebook-security-breach-50-million-accounts

[jpak]

1. Remind me again why I don't do Facebook

[dalton99a]

3. No shit

[NastyRiffraff]

4. Yeah, me too

I had an account that I rarely used. It's deleted now.

[True_Blue]

8. Probably for the same reason I don't

[dalton99a]

2. "This allowed them to steal access tokens which they could then use to take over people's accounts"

https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/09/security-update/

[Fred Sanders]

5. FACEPLANT! When was this ever NOT going to happen?

I am sure they have posted a huge notice about this on the top of every account, with a "Delete This Failed Technology", button, am I right?

If FB can not guarantee security 101%, and they can't...why are folks still there?

[pnwmom]

6. Why are you on DU? DU can't guarantee security. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

7. Why do you not see the difference?

[pnwmom]

9. There is no such thing as 100% security online anywhere. n/t

[xor]

11. I might be wrong, but I think Fred is saying that Facebook encourages and sometimes requires

users put in their personal information. In fact, if someone reports a profile as being fake, then Facebook will often time demand the user upload some sort of official ID to confirm their names and DOB. I've had that happen to me before. I found ways to get around that, but I'm a loser with no life. I suspect most people wouldn't bother.

Also, I doubt DU is collecting nearly as much information on its users as FB does. It doesn't sound like that sort of data was compromised in this case, but it has happened in the past with them. The scope of DU is a lot smaller too. The fact that nearly everyone I know has some connection to facebook means that they can build a profile of me based on things I don't even have control of. That actually bothers me the most about that site. I can totally control what I do on their site or if I even use it, but I cannot control what others post that may connect back to me as an actual person.

Not to mention how nefarious actors could go after soft targets using those platforms, and then ultimately use them as a beachhead for their actual target..but that's a different topic.

[jmowreader]

12. DU is different

Most DUers don’t post everything about their lives here like Facebook users do there.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

10. I believe there is a concerted effort going on

To kill Facebook.

Maybe you think they deserve it, maybe you don’t. But I wonder who is behind this effort .

[we can do it]

14. Too bad it's not already dead.

[Hugin]

13. Just in time for the midterms!

What a coincidink!

Quick! Somebody check what the former Cambridge Analytica is up to and the whereabouts of one Bannon.

Somebody?

Hello?

Hello?

*tap* *tap* Is this thing on?