According to Comparitech, security researcher Bob Diachenko found the site. The website was searched for the first time on December 4, but it is inaccessible as of today, December 19. Comparitech notes that the database was discovered as a downloadable file on a hacker website before the platform was taken down. Most of the Facebook users impacted by this breach are in the U.S., and the details includes Facebook Identities, phone numbers, and complete names of people. Diachenko told Comparitech that the leaked data was most likely due to illegal scraping or a flaw in Facebook’s API. Scraping is against the rules of Facebook, but it can be done easily, particularly if users have settings for public profiles. Facebook users are therefore encouraged to change their privacy settings to “Family” and set the “Do you want search engines to connect to your profile outside of Facebook?”Setting” No. “Diachenko said he was also vigilant about illegal, unsolicited text messages. We asked Facebook to speak on the leaked data and what they did in reaction, and we’re going to update this article until we hear it back. This year, it is not the only time in which Facebook has had data violations. As recently as last month, via fraudulent third-party Android apps, private data from Facebook and Twitter users have also been hacked. It was noticed earlier this month that thousands of Facebook group leaders ‘ private data had been hacked. Back in September, millions of Facebook-related phone numbers were found in an online database that was revealed. The documents allegedly included Facebook Identifiers of users and the phone number associated with the account of each person. Many documents also had titles, class, and position of users. It is important to note that it is crucial for online privacy and security to change your password regularly and to use unique passwords across different platforms. It is no secret that we are bad at managing passwords, but having better login practices can be a shield against data leaks.
