Australians Advised Secure Facebook Accounts due to Data Leak
In a huge data breach, details of more than 500 million global Facebook users were found online. Australians advised securing their social media accounts. Reports claim that names, telephone numbers, email addresses, and account IDs, have been published freely online because of the data breach. As said by Facebook, all the leaked info is old and is related to a problem dating back to 2019. But specialists said Guardian Australia that the data could cause glitches for users involved in the breach.
“Numbers do not lie. The revelation of 553 million users’ data being stolen is not something to be ignored,” says Unni.
“Instead of taking responsibility and supporting the affected users with post data breach support and identify theft protection, Facebook is trying to brush this off as ‘old data.”
“Sure, the data is two years old, but how many times in two years do you change your phone number, email, and date of birth?”
He has advised all social media platforms to become more responsible and accountable regarding data breaches. “They should pay compensation to those affected, or at the very least, provide some sort of additional support moving forward,” Unni says.
Facebook already sells its customer’s data to advertisers, and this newest data breach leaves users with no protection. If you are a Facebook user, take additional precautions when you get emails, even from people you know. Cybercriminals can map your profile, pretend to be your Facebook friend, and send you a phishing email.
He says no business, big or small, is protected from a data breach, and larger businesses particularly must take more responsibility and accountability and invest in the post-data breach support of customers and users.
“Take care when receiving calls from unknown people. They might even claim to be representing Facebook to help you with the recent data breach and act as they want to help you,” Unni says.
“If the call is from a service provider you use, tell them you will call back their main customer service number and follow through with the call.”
“Change all your passwords to more complex ones using letters, numbers, special characters, capital letters, and phrases that cannot be guessed easily.”
Multinational Cyber Security Company Kaspersky has also assessed in on the matter, with its chief operating officer Alexander Moiseev clarifying data protection is the most concerning IT security issue for more than half of organizations internationally.
Though we may be familiar with leaving different info about ourselves on the Internet, we still require controlling what we want to make public and what we don’t. That’s why it is vital to know how our data can be used if it appears in the wrong hands. And, if this occurs, it is essential to be ready and use devoted protection on our devices.
Kaspersky security expert Dmitry Galov speaks it would not be surprising if attackers are seen using data got from the breach in targeted phishing attacks. To stay safe from scammers who may be abusing this data, take additional precaution when you get emails that appear odd – even if they seem to come from someone you trust. Never click on any links or attachments inside emails and always check for weird phrasing or spelling mistakes (a sign that the email is not from the person it claims to be).
