From CNET: More than 267 million Facebook user phone numbers, names and user IDs were exposed in a database that anyone could access online, adding to a long list of privacy and security mishaps that continue to plague the world's largest social network.
Security researcher Bob Diachenko discovered the trove of Facebook user data on Dec. 14. The database, which has been pulled down, wasn't protected by a password or any other safeguard. Access to the database was removed, but by then the information had been out in the open for nearly two weeks. Someone had also made the data available for download on a hacker forum, according to Comparitech, a UK technology research firm that worked with Diachenko.
Facebook's latest privacy mishaps raises questions about whether the company is doing enough to protect the data of its billions of users. It's also another reminder that users should be wary about what information they make public on the social network. This isn't the first time a security researcher has uncovered a database filled with Facebook user data. The revelation also comes after UK political consultancy Cambridge Analytica harvested the data of up to 87 million Facebook users without their consent. Facebook has faced other privacy woes such as storing hundreds of millions of passwords in plain text.
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