Facebook has exposed the phones of more than 400 million users | Chronic

More than 400 million numbers of Facebook users linked to their accounts have been exposed for more than a year on a non-pbadword protected server, in an episode that once again reflects the weaknesses of the company. Company in protection. personal data.

As revealed by the Tech Crunch site, the server has stored more than 419 million records – account ID and phone numbers – of which 133 million corresponded to US users, 50 million in Vietnam and 18 million in the kingdom United

Not being pbadword protected, anyone could access the databases containing this information (in some cases the user's name, location, and gender were added next to the user's name). 39; identifier and phone number), with the following risks: implies.

Far from denying the news, Facebook confirmed it although she said it was an old affair that had already been resolved. "This database is old and seems to contain information obtained prior to the changes we made last year to eliminate the possibility of people finding other people to help." The database has been removed and we have not detected any evidence of which Facebook accounts have been compromised. "they emphasized society.

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However, Tech Crunch said the database was accessible until shortly after contacting the web host. "Sanyam Jain, a security researcher and member of the GDI Foundation, found the database and contacted Tech Crunch after not finding the owner, and after reviewing the data, we either contacted him after contacting the supplier. Web hosting, the database has been disconnected", describes the US media.

The dangers of publishing phone numbers

Facebook said the actual number of users whose information was revealed was about 210 million because the 419 million records contained duplicates, the Guardian newspaper reported.

Until the scandal shared between the social network and the Cambridge Analytica consulting firm regarding the platform's privacy policies bursts, in April 2018, Facebook allows anyone to search for users by phone number.

Meanwhile, in mid-August, an investigation by The New York Times newspaper revealed how, from one person's phone number, it was possible to track sensitive data ranging from personal address the payment of taxes, through the name of the members of the group. Family or criminal record.

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With this information, a cybercriminal could for example reset a pbadword for an online service and answer questions like "What is your mother's name? ", or convince the mobile provider to transfer the number to another after reporting, inter alia, falsely loss of equipment.

This last point, hard to believe, is what happened this weekend to Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, who, with a technique known as "swapping the SIM card", hacked the account and l & # 39; Used to send xenophobic messages on Twitter. .