Facebook has screwed up again. Have you been thinking that with the backlash of the data security issues Facebook would have been a lot more conscious about your privacy? Well, it should have been the case. But it really isn’t. Don’t you agree? You must haven’t read the news about the latest Facebook data breach. Here we are sharing it with you in this article.
What’s the issue now?
Facebook has been found to be involved in the data breach by uploading the address books of 1.5 million users without consent. If you haven’t signed up for a new Facebook account recently, then you won’t have seen the breach of data with your own account. This is because this time the data breach is related to the email account that you provide at the time of signup. Such a problem has arisen because Facebook has been asking the new users to provide their email password at the time of sign up. This was an extra feature to introduce security to the accounts. But as you can see, it has not to work in the way that it should have.
What went wrong?
After the verification of the email account, the new users noticed the new unadded contacts. This process of importation of contacts was not solicited from the users. If you are thinking that Facebook administration did this intentionally, then it is not true. All of it was automatic. This highlights the problem in the signup process. However, for the users it was the issue of data breach straightforwardly. So, if you have signed up for a new Facebook account, you should pay close attention to your friends and friend suggestions that you have on Facebook.
Does it mean the breach of contacts’ data too?
Nothing has been clearly mentioned up till now. But yes, this data retrieved from the email accounts in the form of contacts was uploaded to Facebook’s Ad system. So, these contacts had a higher probability of seeing the ad campaigns, seeing you as the friend suggestion and build up your entire connection network through the data gathered.
Emails of the users aren’t the part of a data breach according to the Facebook administration. But the people you have communicated to are the part of the information revealed, which makes this information highly sensitive. Moreover, all this data with a single company can also make it prone to hacker attacks. And then no one would be sure if the emails are still private or third parties have got the access.
How many accounts have been affected?
According to the estimates of Facebook administration, around 1.5 million new users are the affectees of this mismanagement of Facebook. Now one of the legit questions that would pop up in your mind could be how long it has been to reach 1.5 million users. Although, there is no specific date provided by Facebook for piling up the data from a million users. However, roughly speaking this process of email account password verification initiated in May 2016. So, you can consider it a probable date since which data of users is being collected.
What’s the future of this data breach issue?
Although, a data breach is not a simple issue. But you can feel better because of two main reasons. Firstly, Facebook has admitted its mistake. Secondly, the management has committed to delete the additional data that has been gathered without the consent of the users. So, at least Facebook is taking steps now.
How is Facebook going to compensate?
To be very honest, the compensation offered by Facebook is not compensation in real sense. You would better call this measure the corrective actions for the mistake done by the management. According to these measures, the users whose accounts have faced this problem would be informed and all the non-solicited data would be deleted. And that’s it.
Is it enough?
Obviously not. Saying that the company is going to delete the data is definitely not enough. Users might have to face the excessive burden of data handling and dealing with the contacts while using this platform. Additionally, it is a clear violation of the fundamental rights of protection and privacy. So, such a breach and then deleting data as compensation is something not justified.
Had it been the first time?
Again a big “no”. Facebook has been mismanaging data and admitted its fault from quite some time now. Whether, it is Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the third party application was able to access more information than it actually should have. Or it is the massive security breach in which the private data of users was hacked, Facebook has become an insecure platform when it comes to data security.
So, what should you do?
Unfortunately, there is nothing much that you can do if you want to have an account on Facebook. You’ll have to abide by the policies of the platform and bear the consequences that such data breaches would create. However, one of the options that you have is to delete your account permanently. By deleting everything permanently, your data would be safe and you won’t have to face the situations where the mismanagement of the administration or the third party attacks would affect you.
Is it really possible?
In this world, when you want to connect to your friends and family every time, deleting your Facebook account is not a solution. However, the ultimate choice depends on you. To improve the security of your Facebook Account a bit, you can visit this article. And we would really want you to share your opinion with us.
Conclusion:
This is not the first Facebook data breach and definitely, you cannot term it the last one. You can only hope for that there won’t be any more Facebook screw ups. Meanwhile it is your decision if you want to be on the platform or not. What’s your opinion on this recent data breach? And are you going to keep your Facebook Account or not? Share your opinion with us in the comments section below.
