Facebook Users Beware! Your Phone # May Have Been Leaked!

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2019 Facebook has had several issues with user security and data privacy. Zuckerberg ended up having to testify in court about Facebook's selling of user data. However, this wasn't the only Facebook that had a user's private data issue, specifically with the user's phone numbers. One of the ways a user can signup and login into their Facebook account is through their phone number. Facebook had apparently kept all these phone numbers on an unsecured cloud database. On September 4th the database was discovered online.

Facebook had previously claimed to have scraped this data. One of the phones found was actually Mark Zuckerberg's and CNET managed to dial the number to get to his voicemail. This database was about a previously removed feature where users could look one another up through phone numbers on the platform. The database shortly was no longer public reachable, and no one came forward with making it public. This little hiccup is a warning for all other online sites/services. Many organization has been moving more of their operation online without having the cybersecurity expertise to back it properly. 

With these holes in security, this may be why scam callers are getting better information about their callers. Having a face and whatever they can learn from social media that seem way more legitimate when they call. With Facebook, an estimated 220 million users could be affected by the unexpected leak. Experts suggest that user put their profiles on private will deter scammers from bothering with 'low hanging fruit". Facebook refused to comment and stated that there was no breach in the user's data. Thankfully though research searches the internet daily to identify threats and help catch mistakes before they fall into the wrong hands.

Edited 3/8/2020

Linked article:https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-user-phone-numbers-still-online/


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