Data Harvest Reveals Massive Flaws in Facebook Account Privacy
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The profiles in question were all directly linked to their mobile phone numbers and through that gateway Moaiandin was able to get their names, ages, locations and pictures, among other things. He did this by exploiting a security loophole which enables users to find other users simply by searching for their mobile numbers, it even takes numbers which have been kept private into account. He generated the numbers using an algorithm, put them through the search function and suddenly he was in possession of thousands of accounts' worth of profile data.
The data itself was all public, but the idea of people being able to track your account down so easily might be unnerving to some. More worryingly, such a large accumulation of profile data would have a huge black market price tag. More well known people, or people more vulnerable to threat are also put under risk of either having their mobile numbers or even more disconcertingly, their location, easily found. Accordingly, Facebook are now under major pressure to address the issue and generally tighten up their security.
Moaiandin and others have suggested that Facebook need to add another layer of encryption to block people from seeing profile information for users they aren't friends with. Beyond that, users have been advised by some to keep their mobile numbers off Facebook entirely, rather than risking any loopholes being exploited.
Facebook themselves would rather people simply made use of their own privacy basics tool, but until they actually show that they've taken measures to improve, mistrust will continue to increase.
Callum Davies
Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @CallumAtSMF
Data Harvest Reveals Massive Flaws in Facebook Account Privacy
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Thursday, August 13, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Thursday, August 13, 2015
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Unknown
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