Security incident at Facebook is affecting 50 million users
On Friday, Facebook discovered that hackers had stolen digital login codes. These digital login codes are allowing them to take over nearly 50 million user accounts. This security incident at Facebook is its worst security breach ever given the unprecedented level of potential access. This is further tarnishing the company’s reputation in a year which has not been particularly good for the company altogether.
Facebook has more than 2.2 billion monthly users and it seems all of them are at risk. Facebook has said that it is yet to determine whether the hacker misused any accounts or stole private information. The attacker’s location has also not yet been identified. The details of the specific victims targeted has also not been revealed after the security incident at Facebook. The initial review of the attack suggests that the hack was quite broad in nature.
In a conference call with reporters, Chief Executive, Mark Zuckerberg described the event as “really serious”. A spokeswoman said that his, as well as Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s accounts, were also affected.
Shares in Facebook fell 2.6 per cent on Friday, weighing on major Wall Street stock indexes.
Facebook was in the headlines earlier this year and it was not for good publicity. Profile details of 87 million users were improperly accessed political data firm, Cambridge Analytica. The disclosure of this event had prompted government inquiries into the company’s privacy practices. Moreover, users had started a new “#deleteFacebook” campaign.
The lawmakers in the US said that the recent hack may boost calls for data privacy legislation.
Facebook has made one mistake after the other. The first one was a voluntary crime. This one, although involuntary was fueled negligence on the part of the company. The security incident at Facebook is a warning to its users to take better care of their private information.
