Facebook is one of the richest companies in the world, with the amount of data they process beyond most peoples comprehension. Correspondingly, they attract the best security engineers in the world, with their giant pot of cash able to remunerate them handsomely, with some of the highest salaries in the industry.
So with the above in mind, why is it that friends every week are seemingly getting their Facebook hacked, yet they have no real clue as to why?
Simply put, it’s not Facebook being hacked, but the 3rd party websites that have used Facebook to login in with or connect with, over the years.
You might not realise it, but every time you answer one of those polls or interact with an App on Facebook, it logs you in with Facebook Connect. Think that cute little questionnaire that worked out your Gangster Name or your Royal Name. That’s where the loop hole is and the security weakness.
So, if you’ve ever tried one of the following or seen pop up in your news feed your friends trying out stuff like below, this is Facebook Connect in action. Really, any 3rd party app is a potential leak, where you could be toast.
- What’s your Stripper Name?
- Work out what your Royal Family Name would be
- What’s your Gangster Name?
- What’s your DJ Name?
- Which house at Hogwarts would the sorting hat put you in?
- Are you destined to fight for the Rebel Alliance or the Empire?
- Are you a Democrat or a Republican in your outlook?
- Should you vote Liberal or Labor?
- Play FarmVille?
- Play Zombie Wars?
- Play Words with Friends?
The above is just a snap shot of the myriad of apps out there that chip away and get pieces of your identity – all via Facebook Connect. And in some cases, that little game developer or cute questionnaire developer doesn’t quite invest in the same level of security or talent to protect your data, because they don’t have the cash. Or they just don’t care. Or they setup the app to mine your data in the first place.
This last in the worst case, cyber security is utterly compromised because the app itself is oriented to data mining and geared towards identity theft as it’s the end goal of why the app was setup in the first place.
Facebook as a business doesn’t do itself any favours in this regard, as they keep on redesigning the interface to actually find the privacy settings that need to be updated/changed. This is in part driven by ongoing complaints about how difficult it is to manage your data and privacy, however ironically the very settings that you need to change is the heart of how Facebook makes its money : the way Facebook is setup to mine your digital footprint, profile and bias in apps and sites you interact with.
To fix this and secure your profile, remove connectivity to the 3rd party apps and websites below. The below screenshots will walk you through how to clear these settings step by step.
And if you have been hacked, don’t forget to change your password.
Device: Apple iPad Air 3. Operating System 15.0.1
Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021
You have to start digging – select “See more privacy settings”
The Culture Mind 