Was Your Facebook Hacked?

Did you know that Facebook had a major breach on September 25th? Chances are you didn't know about the breach. The majority of the publicity around the breach was on social media's like Twitter rather than Facebook itself. However, Facebook came out and stated on last Friday that it would let those affected by the breach know. It's unclear how much information was provided to users, so I'm going to educate you on what happened, how to tell, and what to do.

What Happened?

Overall, Facebook is saying that the issue happened because of some vulnerabilities in their codes and software. While this is one issue, it has been found that there are 3 particular ways they gained access to the accounts. The first one targets those who use Facebook to log into other apps, like Spotify or Instagram. The second was through a program that allows for easy video-uploading for birthdays. The third weak point in Facebook was through the "View As" feature, ironically meant for better safety. While each is different, they added to the problem in a big way. The majority of the issue was caused by "digital keys" utilized in these actions to allow access. As the result the hackers tried to collect people's private information, but it's unclear what/how much was collected.

Have you been hacked?

The easy way to tell if your account was part of the breach was being logged out of your account last Friday. However, this can be difficult, according to Kate O'Flaherty at Forbes, because an additional 40 million accounts not hacked were logged out for additional safety. Facebook also stated that they would leave a notification for those affected at the top of their News Feed. If you have used any of the features mentioned, but are uncertain if you were included in the hack, it's best to assume you were and continue with the safety precautions.

What should you do now?

At this point the main focus is towards prevention in the future. Facebook has went in and "solved" the issues through shutting down the options until it can be completely secured. That leave the next steps to the end users. While not "necessary" according to Facebook, it's highly suggested that users change their passwords for their account and any similar passwords for any other accounts. You should also enable two-factor authentication found in the settings to increase your security. Next we suggest to log out of other apps or accounts that you're using through Facebook. To do this go into "apps and websites", then "logged in using Facebook". Overall, the issue has been handled, but it's best to be cautious anyway.