Facebook leaked complete personal information of 533 million users

Virtually complete personal data of 533 million users was stolen from Facebook. As the Business Insider portal reported on Sunday, an unknown person published the data of millions of users on a hacker online forum free of charge. According to the portal, the personal data of more than 533 million Facebook users in 106 countries, of which more than 32 million in the USA, 11 million in the United Kingdom and six million in India. The published data, in addition to telephone numbers, includes identification data for Facebook, full names, locations, birthdays, biographical data and, in some cases, email addresses. According to its own data, Business Insider verified some of the published data and confirmed its accuracy by finding specific users. It also confirmed the correctness of email addresses based on the set of data needed for a forgotten password, including a partial phone number. A Facebook spokesman for Insider explained that the data leaked in 2019 due to a security flaw, which they have in the meantime corrected. Even if it is older data, it can still be valuable information for cybercriminals. They can be used for profile or identity theft, or for various types of scams. "A database of this magnitude containing private information, such as the phone numbers of many Facebook users, is sure to lead to the misuse of this data for social engineering or hacking attempts," said Hudson Rock, a cyber security firm Alon Gal, who was the first to uncover the data leak. Back in January, an offer of a robot appeared on a hacking forum that can provide the telephone numbers of hundreds of millions of Facebook users in exchange for a certain amount of money. Now, however, a complete list has appeared on the same forum for free and has become available to anyone with basic knowledge of data processing. Gal said that in terms of security, Facebook has little to do to help affected users, as their data is already out. However, Facebook should inform its users to be vigilant, as they may be the target of phishing or other fraudulent activity. "People who register with a reputable company like Facebook entrust their data to her with confidence, and Facebook should manage this data with the utmost respect," adds Gal. "The leakage of users' personal data constitutes a serious breach of trust and must be addressed accordingly."