Millions of Facebook users still have their phone number

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A day after Facebook claimed that a huge database of users' phone numbers was no longer floating freely on the Internet, another database containing similar information had been discovered by a UK-based cyber security researcher .

Elliott Murray, CEO of the cybersecurity company WebProtect, presented his findings to CNET. The publication was able to verify that the second database also contained the actual phone numbers of Facebook users.

Murray said that it was difficult to find a database of this magnitude and that it is "almost certainly the same data" that was also found before.

Facebook has yet to comment on this database of recently discovered user phone numbers.

The first face of Facebook

The initial database containing the phone numbers of millions of Facebook users was discovered on Wednesday on a poorly secured cloud server. TechCrunch reported that the massive database listed the phone numbers of Facebook users based in the United States, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

It was a publicly available dataset and the phone numbers could be matched to unique names. Facebook user credentials, or even the exact user names in some cases.

Facebook had then confirmed that about 220 million users were affected by these exposed data. However, in a statement to TechCrunch, the social media company claimed to have taken note of the information. Facebook added that he had found no evidence of compromised accounts. Clearly, the information was either copied or still accessible in one way or another after the latest news.

Facebook has not restricted access to phone numbers?

Yes, it has been more than a year since Facebook removed the opportunity to search for people on the platform with the help of their phone numbers. The company realized that public profiles could be modified with this feature.

This decision comes as a result of the Cambridge Analytica fiasco, which has affected more than 80 million Facebook users.

Now, Facebook claims that the database of phone numbers could have been obtained before the company changed its policy in 2018.

A series of unfortunate events

Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp (all belonging to Facebook) have recently been victims of a series of breaches of privacy. Data about 49 million influencers on Instagram was leaked online in May. In the same month, WhatsApp reported a vulnerability in its system that allowed hackers to access users' phones.

These incidents are no longer isolated incidents on Facebook and the leak of this database of users' phone numbers is the last page of the company's book on riddles. Those looking to abuse this database may be sending spam to call users, or worse, exchanging their SIM cards.

Check out our handy guide to learn more about managing your privacy on Facebook.

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