• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Logo of Agilient Security Consultants, Australia

Agilient Security Consultants Australia

Cybersecurity & Risk Management Specialists

Menu
  • Home
  • Industries
      • Aviation
      • Defence & Defence Industry
      • Government
      • Health & Hospitals
      • Corrections and Detention
      • Maritime
      • Aged Care Facilities
      • Mining, Oil & Gas
      • Public Venues & Events
      • Rail
      • Research and Education Industry
      • Telecommunications
      • Utilities
    • advice-colleagues-communication-newIndustries
  • Services
      • Cybersecurity
      • Protective Security
      • Business Resilience
      • Building Security Consultants
      • Security Audits
      • Pandemic Planning
      • Electronic Security
      • IT Disaster Recovery Plan
      • Security Consultants
      • CCTV and Security Cameras
      • Duress Alarms
      • Security Risk Assessment Consultants
      • Managed Security Service Provider
      • Protection against Vehicles as a Weapon
    • training-1Services
  • Solutions
    • banner-menuUnisys Solutions
    • CTO-Blog-110619-Header-GraphicLookingGlass Solutions
    • menu-bg-2Dell Technologies (RSA) Solutions
    • Sightline-Visualization-menuSightline Solutions
  • Resources
    • menumanagers-dealing-customer-agreTraining
    • working-together-newJoin The Tribe
    • Webinars_3-1.jpgUpcoming and Past Events
    • hacking-detected-shutterstock_newResources
  • Articles
  • About
    • About Us
      We are an Australian owned and operated security company specialising in risk, cybersecurity, protective security, crisis and business continuity management services.
    • frequently-asked-questions-smallFAQ’s
    • bg-menu-government-institutionsConsultant Registration
  • Contact Us
Contact Us

Major Facebook Data Leak Affects 533 Million Users

You are here: Home / Security News / Major Facebook Data Leak Affects 533 Million Users

Earlier this month, it was discovered that the data of approximately 533 million Facebook users had been circulating publicly on the Internet after a data leak. The data included things like profile names, Facebook ID numbers, email addresses and phone numbers, which admittedly could have already been leaked or scraped from another source. However, it is another resource that ties together the information of each victim, presenting scammers or hackers with a clean profile of the victims.

As it turns out, this data leak was facilitated by a flaw in Facebook’s address book contacts import feature, which the attackers exploited. Facebook has stated that this vulnerability was patched back in August 2019, but it is unknown how many times the bug was exploited before then.

How to check if you were exposed

The best way of checking if your phone number or email address have been compromised would be to use the breach tracking site HaveIBeenPwned. If the site says that your information has been affected, then changing passwords would be a first logical step. This is not the first time this has happened with Facebook – several years ago they had the same issue when fixing Instagram’s contacts importer. The real panic stems more from the way that Facebook’s management has been handling these leak situations. They tend to remain quiet for some time after being notified that a potential breach may have occurred. In this particular breach, with 533 million accounts exposed, Facebook hasn’t even given it’s affected users notification on whether or not the issue has been fixed, or how to move ahead after such an incident.

Dealing with breaches is a very scary process, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Even if there were no passwords or usernames leaked, it is still very alarming as phone numbers are also very critical primary keys to user’s data. This is because phone numbers are commonly used for authentication for app and platform usage.

For more information on how to protect, mitigate and bounce back from a cyber-attack, contact us at Agilient.

Tweet
Share

Security News cyber attack,  cybersecurity,  data breach,  data leak,  Facebook,  hackers

Looking for a security partner? Get in touch with Agilient.

Looking for practical and cost-effective security and risk solutions for your government department, agency or company? Speak with Australia’s leading senior security, risk and resilience experts.


Looking for a pandemic planning partner? Get in touch with Agilient.

Looking for practical and cost-effective risk management solutions for your government department, agency or company? Speak with Australia’s leading senior risk and emergency management experts.



Footer

Agilient is a proud member of

Ai Group Defence Council
Australian Industry & Defence Network
Australian Security Industry Association
Sydney Aerospace & Defence Interest Group

Company and Licensing Details:

ABN: 37 157 911 441
NSW Security Master Licence # 410783087
ACT Security Master Licence # 17502184
Vic Security Registration # 878-460-40S
Qld Security Firm Licence # 3834422

Join The Tribe

Sign up to receive our regular Agilient newsletter including the latest security, risk and resilience updates

Sign up now

Copyright © 2022 Agilient – Level 14, 275 Alfred St, North Sydney NSW 2060 Australia – 1300 341 692