bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The Guardian

More than 540 million Facebook records were left exposed on public internet servers, cybersecurity researchers said, in just the latest security black eye for the company.
Researchers for the firm UpGuard discovered two separate sets of Facebook user data on public Amazon cloud servers, the company detailed in a blog post.
One data set, linked to the Mexican media company Cultura Colectiva, contained more than 540 million records, including comments, likes, reactions, account names, Facebook IDs and more. T
The other set, linked to a defunct Facebook app called At the Pool, was significantly smaller, but contained plaintext passwords for 22,000 users.
The large data set was secured on Wednesday after Bloomberg, which first reported the leak, contacted Facebook.
The smaller data set was taken offline during UpGuard’s investigation.
Mark Zuckerberg says governments should regulate internet, which would mean regulating Facebook
The data exposure is not the result of a breach of Facebook’s systems. Rather, it is another example, akin to the Cambridge Analytica case, of Facebook allowing third parties to extract large amounts of user data without controls on how that data is then used or secured.
“The data exposed in each of these sets would not exist without Facebook, yet these data sets are no longer under Facebook’s control,” the UpGuard researchers wrote in its blog post.

“In each case, the Facebook platform facilitated the collection of data about individuals and its transfer to third parties, who became responsible for its security.”
Facebook said that it was investigating the incident and did not yet know the nature of the data, how it was collected or why it was stored on public servers.
Facebook admits its employees had access to millions of users’ passwords
The company said it will tell users if they find evidence that the data was misused.
“Facebook’s policies prohibit storing Facebook information in a public database,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
“Once alerted to the issue, we worked with Amazon to take down the databases. We are committed to working with the developers on our platform to protect people’s data.”
Cultura Colectiva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The data exposure is just the latest example of how Facebook’s efforts to be perceived as a “privacy-focused ” platform are hampered by its own past practices and what UpGuard researchers called “the long tail” of user data.
Facebook faces criminal probe of data deals with major tech companies
For years, Facebook allowed third-party app developers substantial access to users’ information.
“As these exposures show, the data genie cannot be put back in the bottle,” the UpGuard researchers wrote.
“Data about Facebook users has been spread far beyond the bounds of what Facebook can control today.”


TikTok, Meta bristle at Australia’s plan to exempt YouTube from social media ban

Rokid’s AI-infused AR glasses wow China with script projection, smart ring control

Philippine troll takedowns? Facebook pages of 4 pro-Duterte influencers go dark

Zuckerberg visits White House to discuss US tech leadership

Facebook

540 million Facebook records exposed on Amazon servers

FILE PHOTO: Facebook's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

Facebook removed public databases containing its user data on Amazon cloud servers after cybersecurity firm UpGuard discovered millions of exposed records. File photo: Reuters

News

World

United States & Canada

Tech

Researchers from the firm UpGuard said the data, which included usernames and passwords, came from two different Facebook apps that stored their data publicly on Amazon’s cloud services
Facebook said the databases have been taken down


Material discovered on Amazon cloud servers in latest example of Facebook letting third parties extract user data.


540 million Facebook records exposed on Amazon servers

Researchers from the firm UpGuard said the data, which included usernames and passwords, came from two different Facebook apps that stored their data publicly on Amazon’s cloud services Facebook said the databases have been taken down

Researchers from the firm UpGuard said the data, which included usernames and passwords, came from two different Facebook apps that stored their data publicly on Amazon’s cloud services

Facebook said the databases have been taken down