We know the data security standards of major corporations and the tech platforms are not up to scratch. A January security breach of an on-seller of hacked user data revealed 26 billion hacked user identities, such that experts say “the majority of people” are affected.
But this low regard for people’s personal information shows no signs of changing. Last Thursday, it was reported that Facebook Marketplace security had been breached in October last year.
The hack compromised the details of over 200,000 Facebook Marketplace users. It was discovered after hackers offered the data for sale in an online forum, according to tech news site BleepingComputer.
The hacker appears to have gained access to users’ entire profile. Reports suggest users’ names, email addresses, Facebook IDs, phone numbers and profile information were all compromised.
Worse, the system breach was the result of Facebook outsourcing critical systems. A hacker called algoatson reportedly phished a cloud service provider used by the company.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is no stranger to scandals over its low-security standards. Last year, there was outrage online after the company was found to be selling ads to malware operators impersonating Facebook itself.
The ads, claiming to be from Facebook, post links that prompt users to download malware onto their systems.
Nonetheless, a deteriorating user experience isn’t necessarily a problem for Meta’s bottom line, which lately has been cutting back on Zuckerberg’s futuristic pet projects. More than half of Meta’s revenue is still earned from Facebook.
Facebook Marketplace is Facebook’s fastest growing branch and accounts for 16% of the platform’s active users. It remains easily the largest peer-to-peer online commerce website.
At the beginning of February, Meta posted Wall Street’s largest ever single-day gain in market capitalisation, with USD $205.3 billion dollars added. All of Wall Street’s single-day largest gains were posted by tech giants since the start of the COVID pandemic.
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