We've heard about popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook suffering from hacking attacks. Sooner or later, those holes got fixed. This time, Rob Bowes, a security consultant, has uploaded details of about 100 million Facebook users in form of a torrent. This file is a list of Facebook users with their profile link, user name and unique ID. Bowes said that this data was put up in public domain to highlight security issues. First of all, DO NOT panic. Facebook told BBC UK that the information was already public. The list, in form of a torrent, was uploaded at the popular torrent file sharing website - The Pirate Bay which always attracts major user attention.
Facebook also sent a statement saying: "People who use Facebook own their information and have the right to share only what they want, with whom they want, and when they want."
Bowes, in a blog post, wrote that he was able to index information only about the searchable users but not their friends. And in the torrent, he also added the software used to acquire the information from Facebook.
If you don't know yet, Facebook has already kept this information public - www.facecook.com/directory. In an official statement, Facebook has clarified, "No private data is available or has been compromised. Similar to the white pages of the phone book, this is the information available to enable people to find each other, which is the reason people join Facebook."
From time to time, Facebook has been blamed for weak security and each time, Facebook has come up with a bold reply. Facebook already offers Privacy Settings which can be used to keep your personal information secure.
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