Facebook is one of the largest social media websites on the web. Many people store personal information on this social media mogul. Most people assume their information is protected. It came as a surprise when recently when over 250,000 users private information was stolen after a security breach occurred despite Facebook’s security tools.
Security Fails Even Facebook
Facebook has stated that it uses sophisticated measures to ensure that consumer information is safe and protected. However in one of its most recent attacks the company claims that employees gained access to the developers region of the website. According to news reports, this area of the social media site had been hacked into before, which allows malware to be implanted onto the social media website.
Once malware gains a foothold onto any company website, it can gain access into other areas of the website causing damage and sometimes altering code. In this case the malware product gained access to Facebook employee’s company laptops even though they had fully activated anti-virus protection software products. The malware in these cases snuck past a security wall that was in place to protect against such attacks.
The good news for users is that despite a security breach that also occurred in the previous month, no excessive harm was done. The previous month breach was due to a problem with the company’s java package and software.
Currently there are investigations that are looking into the problem more deeply. Facebook apparently offers financial incentives for individuals that find security leaks and bugs in their system. Thus far information uncovered in the case suggests that the hackers responsible for the latest attack were not up-to-date on the website and what it offered. However, the company does consider this latest breach of privacy and security a matter of the utmost importance and concern and are working with law enforcement agents to resolve the issues.
No one is quite clear yet as to whether the individuals that attached Facebook are members of elitist cyber criminals that are attacking other large corporations and federal agencies. Many are concerned that widespread reports of cyber attacks will cause mass panic. Facebook wants to assure consumers that there is no reason to panic, and that every action is being taken to ensure consumer safety. Solutions are under way to resolve security breaches and to find the criminals responsible for the security breaches. In the meantime consumers can protect themselves by updating their passwords and limiting the amount of personal information they provide on the web.
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