Hackers claim they harvested personal data of Facebook users

June 22, 2009 | Dean Takahashi | Comments | |

facebook-hackA couple of self-proclaimed “fans” of Facebook say they were able to gain access to the private information of Facebook users, including Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.

The site FBHive said today that it found a security loophole in Facebook that allows anyone to view the social network’s private data about users. The data in private profiles is accessible even if that information has been hidden via privacy settings. Facebook said it has verified the loophole and shut it off. The company said it does not believe that anyone exploited the loophole.

At first, the FBHive web page displayed the personal information of Facebook’s chief. Then the site replaced the information with “Removed at Facebook’s Request.” The site did the same with the personal data of Digg co-founder Kevin Rose and Boing Boing co-editor Cory Doctorow.

TechCrunch writer Robin Wauters challenged the “two twenty-something guys” running the site to tell her secret information about herself. They promptly responded with her birth date, name of her hometown, name of her fiance and other data. She wrote that only her friends and family have access to that information and that her Facebook page is not generally available to the public.

FBHive said that a similar hack was reported on by the tech news site The Register in 2007. John Harrison, a group product manager at Symantec Security Response, said that the exploit could have been very damaging if it had been exposed widely. He said it is yet another reminder that people should limit the amount of personal information they share with others on social networks, or any network, for that matter.

Next Story: Tesla’s Musk fires back at founder, lawsuit
Previous Story: LiquidPlanner raises $1M to help projects adapt when things go wrong

Bookmark and Share

Tags: ,

Photo of Dean Takahashi

About the Author, Dean Takahashi

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • fyi: robin wauters is a man.
  • securityjunkie
    At the GSC we have been trying to bring recognition to, and fund, individuals and start-ups with innovative ideas to improve cyber security and other homeland security issues.

    If you have an innovative idea to solve a security problem (either as an individual or a start-up) you should take a look at the Global Security Challenge website: http://www.globalsecuritychallenge.com.

    The fourth annual Global Security Challenge Competition 2009 - the leading international competition for security innovators - is currently accepting applications. The winners will gain cash grants totalling over $500,000 USD, mentorship and invaluable publicity and exposure. Entry is free and the closing date is 30 June 2009 for start-ups and SME's!