BBC recently reported that private messages of thousands of about 81,000 Facebook users may now be accessible to a group of hackers who have found a way to steal them. Majority of the accounts belong to Russia and Ukraine, while some of them are from US, UK, Brazil, and other countries.
This report was revealed by BBC Russia. A malicious desktop browser extension was used to steal the account data and according to the hacker's claims, they have the details of 120 million user accounts.
Facebook refused to take any responsibility of this hacking attempt and said that the extension used to access data fetched the users' details and messages and sent it to hackers.
The incident was first noted in September when a user published a thread on a forum online with the message that they have a database of 120 million accounts and they sell Facebook users' personal information.
Digital Shadows, the security firm, performed some investigation and concluded that 81,000 profiles had private messages and the data like email addresses and phone numbers may have been compromised from 176,000 accounts.
Although, it may not be Facebook's fault. But it is sure that it is bad news for Facebook and they may suffer a lot because of this in near future.
Read next: How Secure is Social Media Really?
This report was revealed by BBC Russia. A malicious desktop browser extension was used to steal the account data and according to the hacker's claims, they have the details of 120 million user accounts.
Facebook refused to take any responsibility of this hacking attempt and said that the extension used to access data fetched the users' details and messages and sent it to hackers.
The incident was first noted in September when a user published a thread on a forum online with the message that they have a database of 120 million accounts and they sell Facebook users' personal information.
Digital Shadows, the security firm, performed some investigation and concluded that 81,000 profiles had private messages and the data like email addresses and phone numbers may have been compromised from 176,000 accounts.
Related: Internet Data Breaches Realm - 20+ Fascinating Cyber Security Facts (infographic)Some Russian Facebook users confirmed that the private messages were theirs while talking to BBC.
Although, it may not be Facebook's fault. But it is sure that it is bad news for Facebook and they may suffer a lot because of this in near future.
Read next: How Secure is Social Media Really?
