What happened in the Facebook data breach?
Twingate Team
•
Feb 22, 2024
In April 2021, it was revealed that the personal information of hundreds of millions of Facebook users from over 106 countries was leaked online. The data was reportedly obtained by exploiting Facebook's contact importer feature, which was patched by the company in 2019 after discovering it was being exploited.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted around 533 million users, representing about 20% of Facebook's user base at the time.
What type of data was leaked?
The data exposed included phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and in some instances, email addresses, employers, genders, geographic locations, names, phone numbers, and relationship statuses.
How was Facebook hacked?
The breach occurred through the misuse of Facebook's contact importer feature, rather than a direct hack of Facebook's systems. Malicious actors exploited this feature to scrape public profiles for information before September 2019, when Facebook identified and fixed the vulnerability.
Facebook’s solution
Following the discovery of the scraped data online, Facebook stated it had already fixed the vulnerability in its contact importer tool by 2019. The company emphasized its ongoing efforts to detect and prevent data scraping activities and to remove the exposed data sets from the internet wherever possible.
How do I know if I was affected?
Facebook did not notify users whose data was leaked in this breach. However, users can check if their data was compromised by visiting HaveIBeenPwned, a website that tracks data breaches and can inform users if their information has been exposed in known data leaks.
What should affected users do?
If your data was involved in the Facebook data breach, it's important to take several steps to protect yourself:
Remain Vigilant for Phishing Attempts: Watch out for suspicious emails, messages, or phone calls that use your leaked information to trick you into giving away more personal details or financial information.
Review Your Facebook Security Settings: Check your privacy settings on Facebook to ensure your information is shared only with people you trust. Consider enabling additional security features like two-factor authentication.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your social media and financial accounts for any unusual activity that may indicate someone is using your information maliciously.
For more detailed advice and support, you can reach out to Facebook's Help Center for guidance on securing your account and personal information.
Where can I go to learn more?
For more information on the Facebook data breach and steps to protect your data, you can refer to the following resources:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Facebook data breach?
Twingate Team
•
Feb 22, 2024
In April 2021, it was revealed that the personal information of hundreds of millions of Facebook users from over 106 countries was leaked online. The data was reportedly obtained by exploiting Facebook's contact importer feature, which was patched by the company in 2019 after discovering it was being exploited.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted around 533 million users, representing about 20% of Facebook's user base at the time.
What type of data was leaked?
The data exposed included phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and in some instances, email addresses, employers, genders, geographic locations, names, phone numbers, and relationship statuses.
How was Facebook hacked?
The breach occurred through the misuse of Facebook's contact importer feature, rather than a direct hack of Facebook's systems. Malicious actors exploited this feature to scrape public profiles for information before September 2019, when Facebook identified and fixed the vulnerability.
Facebook’s solution
Following the discovery of the scraped data online, Facebook stated it had already fixed the vulnerability in its contact importer tool by 2019. The company emphasized its ongoing efforts to detect and prevent data scraping activities and to remove the exposed data sets from the internet wherever possible.
How do I know if I was affected?
Facebook did not notify users whose data was leaked in this breach. However, users can check if their data was compromised by visiting HaveIBeenPwned, a website that tracks data breaches and can inform users if their information has been exposed in known data leaks.
What should affected users do?
If your data was involved in the Facebook data breach, it's important to take several steps to protect yourself:
Remain Vigilant for Phishing Attempts: Watch out for suspicious emails, messages, or phone calls that use your leaked information to trick you into giving away more personal details or financial information.
Review Your Facebook Security Settings: Check your privacy settings on Facebook to ensure your information is shared only with people you trust. Consider enabling additional security features like two-factor authentication.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your social media and financial accounts for any unusual activity that may indicate someone is using your information maliciously.
For more detailed advice and support, you can reach out to Facebook's Help Center for guidance on securing your account and personal information.
Where can I go to learn more?
For more information on the Facebook data breach and steps to protect your data, you can refer to the following resources:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Facebook data breach?
Twingate Team
•
Feb 22, 2024
In April 2021, it was revealed that the personal information of hundreds of millions of Facebook users from over 106 countries was leaked online. The data was reportedly obtained by exploiting Facebook's contact importer feature, which was patched by the company in 2019 after discovering it was being exploited.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted around 533 million users, representing about 20% of Facebook's user base at the time.
What type of data was leaked?
The data exposed included phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and in some instances, email addresses, employers, genders, geographic locations, names, phone numbers, and relationship statuses.
How was Facebook hacked?
The breach occurred through the misuse of Facebook's contact importer feature, rather than a direct hack of Facebook's systems. Malicious actors exploited this feature to scrape public profiles for information before September 2019, when Facebook identified and fixed the vulnerability.
Facebook’s solution
Following the discovery of the scraped data online, Facebook stated it had already fixed the vulnerability in its contact importer tool by 2019. The company emphasized its ongoing efforts to detect and prevent data scraping activities and to remove the exposed data sets from the internet wherever possible.
How do I know if I was affected?
Facebook did not notify users whose data was leaked in this breach. However, users can check if their data was compromised by visiting HaveIBeenPwned, a website that tracks data breaches and can inform users if their information has been exposed in known data leaks.
What should affected users do?
If your data was involved in the Facebook data breach, it's important to take several steps to protect yourself:
Remain Vigilant for Phishing Attempts: Watch out for suspicious emails, messages, or phone calls that use your leaked information to trick you into giving away more personal details or financial information.
Review Your Facebook Security Settings: Check your privacy settings on Facebook to ensure your information is shared only with people you trust. Consider enabling additional security features like two-factor authentication.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your social media and financial accounts for any unusual activity that may indicate someone is using your information maliciously.
For more detailed advice and support, you can reach out to Facebook's Help Center for guidance on securing your account and personal information.
Where can I go to learn more?
For more information on the Facebook data breach and steps to protect your data, you can refer to the following resources: