FX.co ★ Facebook data breach poses risks of new cyber crimes

Experts believe that any data leak affecting global social networking sites such as Facebook carries a number of threats. Although the use of this data is unlikely to cause serious damage to their users, the consequences of such an incident cannot be underestimated.

According to Igor Bederov, an expert at the SafeNet engineering center of the National Technology Initiative (NTI), the exposed personal data of millions of users is not enough for hackers to withdraw money from their bank accounts. However, this information could be deployed for social engineering or phishing attacks, SafeNet points out.

Earlier, Business Insider reported that the personal information of more than 500 million Facebook users from 106 countries had been found available on a website for hackers. The data included records on clients from the United States, Great Britain, and Southeast Asia. The leaked information reportedly contained full names, locations, birth dates, and so on. Moreover, some profile facts about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg were among the stolen data.

According to Bederov, this data can be used by scammers for intrusive calls on behalf of stores, banks, insurance companies, and others. Any lost private details make a client vulnerable to this type of fraud, the analyst stresses.

If profile data is found available in a public database, users need to be on alert. Importantly, scammers cannot gain access to users’ bank accounts or cards with the help of this information. However, they can use it for social engineering scams. Therefore, customers must be vigilant when receiving calls from banks, shops, or other companies with a request to name a cardholder number and a three-digit security code, experts warn.