Right to reply: Facebook data leak- users need to take responsibility for their own security
- Added:
- Aug 02, 2010
Personal details of 100m Facebook users have been collected and published on the net by a security consultant. Ron Bowes used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles, collecting data not hidden by the user's privacy settings. The list, which has been shared as a downloadable file, contains the URL of every searchable Facebook user's profile, their name and unique ID. Paul Vlissidis, technical director at independent IT assurance specialist NCC Group, explains why users can’t solely blame the social network for the security breach…
Unsurprisingly, Facebook is again in the firing line for user profile information being easily exposed. However, while users may be outraged that their details are so easily accessible, the collated information was already in the public domain and could be accessed at any time.
What this does highlight is the need for users to take some responsibility for their own privacy and ensure that their profile and personal details are suitably privatised so that they cannot be exposed.
Issues surrounding privacy on social media sites have been widely debated, and users are aware of the risks associated when joining these sites.
The problem is they don’t care until something like this happens.
While a high level of user privacy is not commonly the default setting for social media tools, this latest revelation should serve as a wakeup call to those who are exposing personal information online and lead them to take personal responsibility for the security of their own information.
By Paul Vlissidis
Technical director
NCC Group
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