The social media giant, Facebook, recently reported a massive security breach which impacted almost 50 million user accounts. Many people believe that what happened vis-a-vis this data breach was the same thing as the Cambridge Analytica scandal? In this blog, we will discuss everything you need to know on the breach, so that you get a clear idea on what really happened.
The breach which took place recently is the largest in the company’s 14-year history. Three bugs were identified in the Facebook video uploader. The first bug caused Facebook's video upload tool to mistakenly show up on the "View As" page. View As is a feature which allows you to see how your profile looks in public.
Facebook says 50 Million users were affected by the hack and 40 Million users were logged out, just because they assessed the “View As” feature. This was because the vulnerability entered the Facebook code. If you were affected by the Facebook breach, you would have seen a post, right at the top of your News Feed. You would be notified on this breach. Access Tokens do not include passwords and you will not need to change, the Facebook passwords.
According to Facebook, the leak has been plugged right on September 27th. There is an ongoing probe in this matter. The access tokens for all affected accounts have been reset. Facebook isn’t sure as yet if personal data had been accessed.
With access tokens, the hackers would be able to access all websites and apps that use the Facebook account for authentication. This includes food delivery apps and even dating apps.
You and several Facebook users were forced to re-login to these food delivery and dating apps, as access tokens were invalidated.
If you go to the Facebook settings, you will be able to get information on all the apps you have logged into using Facebook. You will have to go to the Apps and Websites option to check it out.
The difference between Cambridge Analytica and this scam is this breach is a real hack. In the Cambridge Analytica case, a researcher exploited the really generous Facebook’s data-sharing policies to make a quick profit. Facebook has not yet told us, what the hackers have accessed. If personal data was misused after the leak, Facebook could be in deep trouble. It could be punished under GDPR, as chances are many of the affected users were from Europe.
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