The AP is reporting today on a recent Facebook security flaw that allows private photos to be accessed by unauthorized viewers via a simple URL edit. Coming just days after Facebook’s recent security upgrades, this incident highlights the fact that social networking sites are not always as secure as users would like them to be. This is especially important to note as more and more people are sharing their personal information on the internet.
In this recent security lapse, a computer technician from Canada uncovered a loop hole in the Facebook privacy protections. This allowed him to see pictures of people he did now know and who had not authorized him to view their private accounts. The breach was so glaring that the AP, in the course of their investigation, was able to utilize the same methods and view a 2005 personal photo album of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
There is no way to quantify at this time what impact this breach will have or how many users have been affected. Facebook has stated that it has since fixed the problem and maintains strong privacy controls for their social networking site.
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Robert Michel
[...] security flaw that allows private photos to be accessed by unauthorized viewers via a simple …http://www.reputationdefenderblog.com/2008/03/28/facebook-hack-exposes-private-photos/Security lapse exposes Facebook photos – CNN.com… peruse personal photos posted on facebook Inc.’s [...]
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Apparently, the URL edit “hack” has been fixed for the time being. The method of choice now relies on using FireFox in combination with a Greasemonkey script; however, it appears that Facebook is being more pro-active in their search for vulnerabilities.
Thanks for the update and comment HSN. I applaud Facebook for keeping privacy concerns at the top of the list. But once those photos get out there, even with privacy controls, they can spread and impact your personal brand.
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