Facebook | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

How to Hack a Facebook Account? That's possibly the most frequently asked question on the Internet today. Though the solution is hard to find, a white hat hacker has just proven how easy it is to hack multiple Facebook accounts with some basic computer skills. Your Facebook account can be hacked, no matter how strong your password is or how much extra security measures you have taken. No joke! Gurkirat Singh from California recently discovered a loophole in Facebook's password reset mechanism that could have given hackers complete access to the victim's Facebook account, allowing them to view message conversations and payment card details, post anything and do whatever the real account holder can. The attack vector is simple, though the execution is quite difficult. The issue, Gurkirat ( @GurkiratSpeca ) says, actually resides in the way Facebook allows you to reset your password. The social network uses an algorithm that generates a random 6-digit passcode ‒

Nothing comes for Free, as "Free" is just a relative term used by companies to develop a strong user base and then use it for their own benefits. The same has been done by the secure messaging app WhatsApp, which has now made it crystal clear that the popular messaging service will begin sharing its users' data with its parent company, Facebook. However, WhatsApp is offering a partial opt-out for Facebook targeted ads and product related purposes, which I will let you know later in this article, but completely opting out of the data-sharing does not seem to be possible. Let's know what the company has decided to do with your data. Of course, Facebook is willing to use your data to sell more targeted advertisements. WhatsApp introduced some significant changes to its privacy policy and T&Cs today which, if accepted once, gives it permission to connect users' Facebook accounts to WhatsApp accounts for the first time, giving Facebook more data about us

Identities now transcend human boundaries. Within each line of code and every API call lies a non-human identity. These entities act as programmatic access keys, enabling authentication and facilitating interactions among systems and services, which are essential for every API call, database query, or storage account access. As we depend on multi-factor authentication and passwords to safeguard human identities, a pressing question arises: How do we guarantee the security and integrity of these non-human counterparts? How do we authenticate, authorize, and regulate access for entities devoid of life but crucial for the functioning of critical systems? Let's break it down. The challenge Imagine a cloud-native application as a bustling metropolis of tiny neighborhoods known as microservices, all neatly packed into containers. These microservices function akin to diligent worker bees, each diligently performing its designated task, be it processing data, verifying credentials, or

After the failure of Facebook's Free Basics -- an initiative to provide free Internet access -- in India due to the violation of Net Neutrality principles, Facebook has reintroduced its plan to provide Internet access in rural India, but this time: The social networking giant is planning to launch a commercial WiFi service in India. Facebook is testing a WiFi service in rural India, allowing people with no internet connection to buy affordable data packages from their local internet service providers (ISPs) in order to access the Internet via local hotspots. Dubbed Express Wi-Fi , the program is in sync with Mark Zuckerberg's Internet.org -- the platform Facebook used for its Free Basics to bring the Internet to all. India banned Free Basics in the country on net neutrality grounds. Net Neutrality advocates argued that by offering some websites and services for free, people are discouraged from visiting other sites. Now, Facebook has partnered with state-owned

Yes, you heard it right. If I tell you not to visit my website, but you still visit it knowing you are disapproved, you are committing a federal crime, and I have the authority to sue you. Wait! I haven't disapproved you yet. Rather I'm making you aware of a new court decision that may trouble you and could have big implications going forward. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has taken a critical decision on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA): Companies can seek civil and criminal penalties against people who access or visit their websites without their permission. Even Sharing Password is also a Federal Crime... Yes, a similar weird decision was taken last week when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that sharing passwords can be a violation of the CFAA, making Millions of people who share their passwords "unwitting federal criminals." Now, you might be wondering how visiting a publically open website could be a crime. We

Twitter account of another high profile has been hacked! This time, it is Facebook-owned virtual reality company Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe who had his Twitter account hacked Wednesday. Iribe is the latest in the list of technology chief executives to have had their social media accounts hacked in recent weeks. Recently, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai , Twitter's ex-CEO Dick Costolo , and Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg , have all fallen victim to similar hacks. The hacker, who has not been identified yet, changed Iribe's cover photo and replaced his bio to " im not testing ya security im just having a laugh. " The hack became apparent when a tweet from Iribe Twitter account was made saying: "We here @Oculus are very excited to announce our CEO. @Lid ! :)." This tweet was followed by another saying: "Imagine creating the coolest s*** to ever be introduced to gaming and technology but using the same pass for 4 years lol... silly mr CE

What do you do to protect your 'Privacy' and keep yourself safe from potential hackers? Well, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg just need a bit of tape to cover his laptop webcam and mic jack in order to protect his privacy. Yes, Zuck also does the same as the FBI Director James Comey . Zuckerberg posted a photo on Tuesday to celebrate Instagram's 500 Million monthly user milestone, but the picture end up revealing about another security measure he takes to ensure that nobody is spying on him – and it's surprisingly simple. Some eagle-eyed observers quickly noticed that the MacBook Pro on Zuckerberg's desk in the background of the image has the tape covering not only the webcam, but also the laptop's dual microphones. While some tried to argue that it was not Zuckerberg's desk, Gizmodo pointed out that Zuckerberg has posted videos, live streams and images from there before, so it seems like a safe assumption. So, Zuckerberg joins FBI director Jam

The man who runs the biggest social network and continuously implements new security measures to boost its billion users security, himself failed to follow basics of Internet security for his own online accounts. Yes, I'm talking about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg , who had his Twitter and Pinterest accounts compromised on Sunday. The hacker group from Saudi Arabia, dubbed OurMine , claimed responsibility for the hack and guess how the group did it? Thanks to the LinkedIn data breach ! The hackers tweeted that they found Zuck's account credentials in the recent LinkedIn data breach, from which they took his SHA1-hashed password string and then broke it and tried on several social media accounts. Also Read: Hacker Removed Zuckerberg's Facebook Cover Photo The group, which has more than 40,000 Twitter followers, then successfully broke into Zuck's Twitter ( @finkd ) and Pinterest profile and defaced its banners with its logo as well as tweeted out some offens

Have you ever felt Facebook is showing you very relevant ads about topics you're only discussing around your phone? If yes, then you may find this news worth reading. Communications Professor Kelli Burns from the University of South Florida claims that Facebook is listening to all conversations people have while its app is open to serve more relevant ads for products related to what they are talking about. However, the social networking giant responds  it does listen to audio and collect information from users, but does not record or use sounds heard around people for targeted ads. " Facebook does not use microphone audio to inform advertising or News Feed stories in any way ," a Facebook spokesperson said. " Businesses are able to serve relevant ads based on people's interests and other demographic information, but not through audio collection. " Facebook rolled out a feature in May of 2014 when the company said that it might target ads " in t

Facebook is set to introduce end-to-end encryption for its Messenger app , allowing more than its 900 Million users to send and receive messages that can not be read or intercepted by law enforcement or even the social network itself. However, it's not the kind of end-to-end encrypted chat feature provided by Apple or WhatsApp in which all your conversation are entirely encrypted by default. Instead, the social networking giant will offer an end-to-end encrypted chat mode in Messenger as opt-in, just like Google's Allo smart chat app that provides encrypted chat feature only if users opt for it. Privacy advocates criticized Google for adding its ' incognito ' encrypted chat mode as an opt-in feature, rather than offering end-to-end encryption by default. Now, Facebook Messenger will roll out the same choice for its users in the next few months, when the company will roll out this new encrypted chat mode in Messenger as an opt-in feature, reports  The Guardian.

There's nowhere to hide across the web, especially from the marketing and advertising companies. If you are paranoid about your privacy, you may get upset to know that Facebook will now track and deliver targeted Ads on other apps and websites for everyone, even if you do not have Facebook accounts. Until now, Facebook was showing targeted ads only to its users, but now the social networking giant says it needs extra data to make its ads better. Facebook announced on Thursday that the company is expanding its Audience Network , allowing publishers and developers to reach more people through Facebook advertising. To deliver interest-based Ads to its users as well as non-users alike, Facebook will now use cookies via third-party websites offering Facebook plug-ins (e.g. 'Like' button). "We've designed these updates so that we continue to comply with EU law. In particular, we reflected feedback from people who use Facebook, including a variety of privacy experts

Facebook is in trouble once again regarding its users' privacy. Facebook is facing a class-action lawsuit in Northern California over allegations that the company systematically scans its users' private messages on the social network without their consent and makes the profit by sharing the data with advertisers and marketers. According to the lawsuit filing, Facebook might have violated federal privacy laws by scanning users' private messages. Facebook routinely scans the URLs within users' private messages for several purposes like anti-malware protection and industry-standard searches for child pornography, but it has been claimed that the company is also using this data for advertising and other user-targeting services. Also Read:   Google to Face a Record $3.4 Billion AntiTrust Fine in Europe The plaintiffs, Matthew Campbell, and Michael Hurley argue that the Facebook is scanning and collecting URLs-related data in a searchable form, violating both the

Hacking into computer, networks and websites could easily land you in jail. But what if you could freely test and practice your hacking skills in a legally safe environment? Facebook just open-sourced its Capture The Flag (CTF) platform to encourage students as well as developers to learn about cyber security and secure coding practices. Capture the Flag hacking competitions are conducted at various cyber security events and conferences, including Def Con, in order to highlight the real-world exploits and cyber attacks. The CTF program is an effective way of identifying young people with exceptional computer skills, as well as teaching beginners about common and advanced exploitation techniques to ensure they develop secure programs that cannot be easily compromised. Facebook  CTF Video Demo: Since 2013, Facebook has itself hosted CTF competitions at events across the world and now, it is opening the platform to masses by releasing its source code on GitHub. "

" Talent has no Age Limit " That's what I said for a 10-year-old Finnish boy on our official Facebook page while sharing his recent achievement with our readers i.e. Winning $10,000 bug bounty from Instagram . Last Tuesday when we at The Hacker News first acknowledged this talented boy and the flaw he discovered in image-sharing social network Instagram, I did not have an idea that the Facebook post would get an enormous response from our followers, encouraging me to introduce Jani to our website readers too. Those who aren't aware, Jani from Helsinki recently reported an Instagram bug to Facebook that allowed him to delete other Instagram users' comments just by entering a malicious code into the app's comment field. " I would have been able to eliminate anyone's comment from Instagram, even Justin Bieber, " Jani told a local newspaper. Jani responsibly disclosed the vulnerability details to Facebook, who owns Instagram, in February and

In Brief For the second time in past five months, a Brazil court ordered local telecommunications companies to block the popular messaging app WhatsApp for 72 hours, afterFacebook-owned WhatsApp company refused to hand over information requested in a drug trafficking investigation. The WhatsApp's shutdown is affecting more than 100 million users throughout the country. Moreover, if Brazilian telecommunications companies do not comply, they could face a fine of $143,000 per day. Brazil just blocked its roughly 100 Million citizens from using WhatsApp, the popular messaging service owned by Facebook, for 72 hours (3 days). A Brazilian Judge ordered the blackout after WhatsApp failed to comply with a court order asking the company to help a branch of civil police access WhatsApp data tied to a criminal investigation. This is for the second time in last five months when a Brazil court ordered local telecommunications companies to block access to the popular messaging servi

In Brief Facebook has hit another Milestone: More than 1 MILLION people, or you can say privacy conscious, are accessing Facebook over TOR. Facebook proudly announced today that, this month, for the first time, the people connected to the anonymous version of Facebook that's accessible only through the TOR anonymity network exceeded 1 Million – an increase of almost 100% in the past ten months. Today, when global surveillance system continues to grow, encryption has the power to protect users' security and privacy online. And it is ultimately a good thing that companies like Facebook are competing on users' security. In 2014, Facebook launched a special version of its website that runs only with the help of Tor anonymity software that offers privacy to users. Tor anonymity software or Tor browser secures and encrypts connections to prevent cyber criminals or law enforcement agencies from tracking users' web activity. Tor users can visit Facebook's Tor hidden s

Today the Internet has become dominated by images, and it's the major feature that got Facebook to a Billion daily users. We can not imagine Facebook without photos, but for Millions of blind and visually impaired people, Facebook without photos has been the reality since its launch. But not now! Facebook has launched a system, dubbed Automatic Alternative Text , which describes the contents of pictures by telling blind and visually-impaired users what appears in them. Blind and visually-impaired people use sophisticated navigation software known as screen readers to make their computers usable. The software turns the contents of the screen into speech, but it can't "read" pictures. However, Facebook's Automatic Alternative Text or AAT uses object recognition technology that can decode and describe photos uploaded to the social network site using artificial intelligence and then provide them in a form that can be readable by a screen reader. V

Hope all of you have enjoyed the Game of Chess in the Facebook Messenger. But if you're quite bored playing Chess or not really good at the game, then you probably felt a bit excited about Facebook's recent inclusion of a little Basketball mini-game into Messenger. Now you can play Basketball through Facebook Messenger, just by typing in the Basketball emoji and sending to one of your friends. This would enable a secret Basketball mini-game between you and your friend. Here's How to Play Basketball: Just locate the basketball emoji from your emoji list, send to one of your friends and click it to start the game. Once sent, you would be taken to the Basketball court in a pure white background, where there is no sidebars of any friend suggestions or any promotional ads; only appears a basketball and a hoop, nothing else! All you have to do: Just Swipe up and Toss the basketball into the hoop. A single swipe on your phone in the directio

Apple is not the only technology giant battling against authorities over a court order; Facebook is also facing the same. Brazil's federal police arrested Facebook Latin America Vice President for failing to comply with court orders to help investigators in a drug trafficking case that involves WhatsApp, a popular messaging app owned by Facebook that has over 100 Million users in Brazil. Facebook VP Diego Jorge Dzodan was arrested on his way to work in São Paulo, Brazil today because the company refused to provide details of a WhatsApp user involved in organized crime and drug trafficking. Dzodan is still in police custody and is responding to police questioning in Sao Paulo, Local media reported . According to a statement released by a spokesperson from WhatsApp: "We are disappointed that law enforcement took this extreme step. WhatsApp cannot provide information we do not have. We cooperated to the full extent of our ability in this case, and while we re

Over a past few times, we have seen a steady growth in the online recruitment of Jihadis from social networking sites by many radical groups. ISIS has topped the online recruitment, and it is the only terror group that leverages the enormous power of Twitter and Facebook to radicalize young minds, spread its message and recruit foreign supporters to its fights. Many ISIS militants maintain extremely active accounts on the popular social media platforms and have a strong presence on the most popular encrypted messaging app Telegram with more than 100,000 followers. This issue had impacted the society deeply. Recent examples include last year's Paris attack in which ISIS used some popular messaging apps to plot the attack. As the Dark Siders of social media began to turn this platform into a Terror-Picker, the White Siders of the same social media came under a single roof to declare fight against terrorism, and rage cyber war against these anti-humans. Facebook

8th February 2016 would be considered as a cursed day in the history of Facebook. You might have known that just yesterday India bans Facebook's Free Basic Internet in the country. Now, Zuckerberg had got another bombshell in the form of a French Order from the European Data Protection Authority, who ordered Facebook to stop tracking non-users' online activity and to stop data transfers of personal data to the US servers. Facebook Is Following You Everywhere Do you know: Facebook can still track you, even if you log out, with the help of its tracking cookies and plugins ( like, share buttons ) placed on any 3rd-party website. Facebook knows what sites you are visiting, and by " you ," I mean specifically your account, not an anonymous Facebook user . As per the French Order, Facebook is not legalized to track the web browsing habits of all European citizens, even those without a Facebook account. The French Government had also provided a tim