Millions of Facebook Records Exposed on Amazon Cloud Servers

Millions of Facebook records were found on publicly accessible Amazon's cloud servers by researchers at UpGuard, a cybersecurity firm, reports Bloomberg. The data was uploaded by third-party companies that work with Facebook.

Mexico City-based media company Cultura Colectiva, for example, was storing 540 million records on Facebook users on Amazon's servers, offering up information that included identification numbers, comments, reactions, and account names.

facebooksecurity
A now-defunct app called At the Pool shared sensitive data like names and email addresses for 22,000 Facebook users.

Facebook did not leak this data, but it did provide the data to the third-party companies that went on to improperly store it with no oversight from Facebook. For years, Facebook provided extensive customer information to advertisers and partners, and while the company has since cracked down on the amount of data it shares, the previously obtained information is still widely available.

"The public doesn't realize yet that these high-level systems administrators and developers, the people that are custodians of this data, they are being either risky or lazy or cutting corners," said Chris Vickery, director of cyber risk research at UpGuard. "Not enough care is being put into the security side of big data."

Facebook's prior data sharing habits allowed any app on the site to obtain information from the people using the app and their friends in many cases, which led to the scandal that saw Cambridge Analytica illicitly using personal data acquired from Facebook to create targeted political advertisements in the 2016 election.

Facebook has since modified its privacy policies and has cut down on the access that apps have. Facebook has also suspended hundreds of apps and began audits to make sure data isn't being mishandled.

In response to the public Facebook data found by UpGuard, a Facebook spokesperson told Bloomberg that its policies prohibit the storing of Facebook information in a public database, though there is apparently little oversight from Facebook. Facebook did work with Amazon to take down the databases that were sharing data publicly after UpGuard's discovery.

Top Rated Comments

cmaier Avatar
65 months ago
Another day, another facebook data scandal.
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cppguy Avatar
65 months ago
Everything you post on facebook is public. There's no such thing as a private post, period. You have to treat facebook like that.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
benshive Avatar
65 months ago
Just when you think Facebook has hit rock bottom they somehow manage to dive off of another cliff
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
esk Avatar
65 months ago
this site should be renamed to apple/facebook fails
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jsmith189 Avatar
65 months ago
I use Facebook with a complete understanding that any and everything on there is being sold and likely improperly used. Instagram too. That's why I don't link credit cards and FB has its own individual password. Having said that, I know apps share their data too, so FB probably have it all anyway.

Zuck is the literal devil.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
65 months ago
Millions of Facebook records were found on publicly accessible Amazon's cloud servers by researchers at UpGuard, a cybersecurity firm, reports Bloomberg ('https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/millions-of-facebook-records-found-on-amazon-cloud-servers').
Are we back to trusting what Bloomberg reports now?

#Supermicro
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...