Meta reported a possible data leak of one million Facebook users
Users were asked to log in to the apps via Facebook, after which the data was passed on to the attackers
The American company Meta reported a possible data leak of at least one million users of its Facebook social network. Personal information may have been stolen due to security issues with apps downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.
The company discovered more than 400 malicious services masquerading as photo editors, mobile games, VPNs or health trackers. Of these, 355 were available for download on Android, 45 on iOS. Users were asked to log in to the apps through Facebook, after which the data got to the attackers. Apple and Google said they have already removed these apps from their stores.
David Agranovych, Meta’s director of countering cyberthreats, noted that so far they have not been able to determine the exact number of victims, as the data theft occurred on personal devices.
The company promised to help potential victims of attackers, so that users can learn how to detect dangerous programs. Agranovych advised to be careful with services that require authorization in social networks to access any functions.
Earlier, Meta discovered a network spreading Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine. Pro-Kremlin opinion was broadcast through hundreds of fake accounts in social networks and dozens of fake sites copying the largest Western media – for example, the British newspaper The Guardian and the German Der Spiegel.
More than 1,600 fake accounts have been identified on Facebook alone to spread propaganda to audiences in Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain and Ukraine. Several times the content was published on the official pages of Russian embassies in Europe and Asia.
The disinformation campaign ran from April to September and was the largest since the beginning of the Russian invasion, with Meta estimates that its organizers spent more than $100,000 on fake social media ads alone.
