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In a major breach of privacy, personal details of nearly 53 crore Facebook users from more than a 100 countries were allegedly leaked online and posted for free on low level hacking forums, according to various sources. The leaked details include name, gender, occupation, marital and relationship status, the date of joining and the place of work of users.
The cell-phone number of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is among the personal information leaked online. Multiple outlets reported the claims about Zuckerberg's leaked personal information. Data including his name, location, marriage details, birth date, and Facebook user ID was exposed.
The development was shared by the chief technology officer of cybercrime intelligence firm Hudson Rock, Alon Gal.
The database was first leaked in 2019 and was initially being sold on Telegram for $20 per search. Facebook had then said that it had dealt the vulnerability. But, in June 2020, and, then in January 2021, the same database was leaked again. The vulnerability was the same.
The claimed data breach reportedly includes the personal information of 6 lakh users in India.
Both in January and at present, Facebook says that the data is 'old' and was breached due to a vulnerability that was patched in August 2019. However, the company has not provided any details as to how it is rectifying this lapse in security.
As pointed out by the security researcher, there seems to be no attempt from the company to notify users if their data has been compromised.
Most importantly, if a users' personal info such as email, phone number and username are exposed, they are at the risk of being subjected to a phishing attack. Such things could expose one's sensitive files like photos or even banking details. It may also lead to the instances of online stalking.
India still does not have a robust mechanism for user data protection and penal actions, if any, in cases of data breaches. The Personal Data Protection Bill, which is said to contain provisions dealing with the same has been pending in Lok Sabha since 2019.
Source: businessinsider.in, indianexpress.com, news18.com, indiatoday.in
Written by Siddhant Sharma
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