Stay informed on the latest Facebook security updates and protect your personal data with expert analysis and tips on our Information Security tag.
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Facebook is a social networking platform for user profiles, messaging, groups, pages, and content sharing, delivered through web and mobile clients and interfaces for third-party applications. Its security relevance comes from concentrating identity, relationships, communications, and personal data in a connected account ecosystem; compromise can expose private content or enable impersonation and targeted social engineering.
Security coverage includes vulnerabilities in Facebook’s clients, APIs, authentication, and account-recovery workflows, along with abuse of messages, groups, applications, and advertising features to distribute phishing or malicious links. Practitioners should distinguish platform flaws from credential theft or fraudulent content, assessing advisories by affected component, exploitability, and required updates. Privacy controls and third-party permissions reduce exposure but do not replace unique credentials, multi-factor authentication, session review, and prompt reporting; investigations may also require platform logs and preserved account or message evidence.
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Also, Kali365 Bypasses MFA, Silent Ransom Group Makes Office CallsThis week, active duty troops tracked, Kali365 bypassed MFA, Australian lawmakers phished on WhatsApp, Silent Ransom escalated IT scams, Lithuania and German hospitals disclosed breaches, pro-Russian infrastructure providers arrested, CISA warned of active LiteSpeed exploitation.
'Cyber Android RAT' Can Capture WhatsApp History, Crypto Seed PhrasesCybercriminals are advertising on criminal hacking online boards an Android remote access Trojan that can steal victims' WhatsApp conversation history, surveil them in real time and extract cryptocurrency seed phrases for the low price of about $500 a month.
Also, More ClickFix Attacks and Teen Booters Arrested in PolandThis week, Russian hackers targeted Signal and WhatsApp users, permit-fee phishing hit U.S. applicants, ClickFix on WordPress sites, Microsoft patched 80 bugs, a 14K-router botnet, Polish teens held over DDoS tools and Finland warned of Russian, Chinese espionage. North Korean IT workers for hire.
European Commission Intends to Force Meta to Open Chat App to Third Party AIThe European Commission said Meta appears to have broken antitrust law by blocking third-party AI assistants from interfacing with their users through WhatsApp. It gave notice to parent company that Europe intends to open up WhatsApp to third-party general-purpose AI assistants.
Cyber Advisory Cites Abuse of Linked Devices to Monitor Sensitive CommunicationsThe U.S cyber defense agency issued an alert outlining how commercial spyware and state-aligned groups are abusing messaging-app features through malicious QR-based linking and zero-click exploitation to monitor U.S. government, military and other high-profile figures.
Researchers Were Able to Query 3.5 Billion AccountsSecurity researchers were able to scoop up the telephone numbers of billions of WhatsApp users through an enumeration tool provided by app owner Meta. The sheer quantity of leaked numbers - 3.5 billion in total - would amount to "the largest data leak in history."
NSO Group Blocked From WhatsApp and Must Destroy Code Used to Hack 1,400 DevicesA federal judge issued a permanent injunction barring NSO Group from using or retaining its WhatsApp spyware exploit, citing national security risks and business harm after the manufacturer's tools compromised 1,400 devices - some allegedly linked to journalists and officials.
Also, a Renault Breach, WhatsApp Malware and Qilin Claims Asahi AttackThis week, insurer cybersecurity spending, a Renault breach, a WhatsApp malware campaign in Brazil. Germany skeptical of Chat Control. Two UK teens arrested for ransomware attack. Qilin claimed the attack on Japan's Asahi. Hackers weaponized Nezha. An Invoice data breach exposed personal records.
Users Download Malware in Bid to Placate MetaA newly surfaced FileFix social engineering campaign puts a new spin on ClickFix attacks by goading users into loading malware under the guise of reporting a wrongful account suspension to social media giant Facebook. Victims likely get sucked into the scam by following a link from a phishing email.
Former CSO Joe Sullivan on Vibe Coding Impact on Software DevelopmentAI is reshaping how software is created, allowing more people to participate in the process through "vibe coding." But as development accelerates, security challenges multiply as code is often deployed without thorough review, said Joe Sullivan, former CSO at Cloudflare, Facebook and Uber.
Class Action Litigation Accused Mt. Sinai of Sending Patient Info to FacebookA New York City healthcare system has agreed to pay nearly $5.3 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the hospital's use of online tracking tools in its patient portal and website sent patient information to Facebook without their knowledge or consent for years.
WhatsApp CEO Says UK Request Sets "Dangerous Precedent"Instant messaging app WhatsApp is seeking to join Apple's legal battle with the U.K. government over end-to-end encryption. Apple is challenging a Home Office order requiring the device maker to provide law enforcement with unencrypted copies of customer data.
WhatsApp CEO Says UK Request Sets "Dangerous Precedent"Instant messaging app WhatsApp is seeking to join Apple's legal battle with the U.K. government over end-to-end encryption. Apple is challenging a Home Office order requiring the device maker to provide law enforcement with unencrypted copies of customer data.
Emerging artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies being applied in the health and wellness space that are not necessarily covered by HIPAA but instead fall under a variety of tough new state privacy laws that are being enacted, said attorney Lily Li of Metaverse Law.
German Court Rebuffs Consumer Group Bid for InjunctionMeta can use the public posts of European Instagram and Facebook users to train its artificial intelligence models starting Tuesday after a German court rejected an injunction against the company. The court said Meta has a "legitimate interest" in processing the data.
Emerging artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies being applied in the health and wellness space that are not necessarily covered by HIPAA but instead fall under a variety of tough new state privacy laws that are being enacted, said attorney Lily Li of Metaverse Law.
All Risk, No Reward: Meta's Ongoing Legal Issues in EuropeSocial media giant Meta is likely to face more legal hurdles over its plans to use the personal data of European Facebook and Instagram users to train artificial intelligence models. Meta paused efforts to train AI with European data in June 2024.
Noodlophile Steals Credentials and Wallets Under AI Video GuiseHackers are targeting users into downloading infostealers by tricking them into clicking on links that claim to produce AI-generated videos. The attackers build websites and promoted them on high-visibility Facebook groups, some exceeding 60,000 views.
Jury Slams NSO With $167M Verdict for WhatsApp HackMeta has secured a $167 million punitive damages verdict against Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group, with a U.S. jury finding the firm illegally used Pegasus malware to hack 1,400 WhatsApp accounts tied to diplomats, dissidents and journalists using encrypted messaging platforms.
European Commission Also Fines Apple 500 Million EurosEuropean regulators said Facebook conducted an end run around privacy regulations by requiring users to pay a monthly subscription fee or else accept that their personal data would be fed to advertisers. The European Commission fined the social media giant 200 million euros.