The social media giant was previously fined $5 billion for data leak of 87 million users
Facebook has had its worst data breach to date where the social media giant has leaked personal information of more than 533 million users in 106 countries. The worst-hit country is the United States with 32 million users’ data being compromised. The UK was the second most affected country with 11 million users’ data being leaked according to the information available.
The leaked data includes phone numbers, Facebook IDs, people’s locations, bios, and email addresses amongst other personal information. Facebook in recent years has been working on stopping data leakage as well as reporting it to the people when an incident takes place.
“The exposed data includes personal information of over 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries, including over 32 million records on users in the US, 11 million on users in the UK, and 6 million on users in India,” according to media reports. “It includes their phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and — in some cases — email addresses.”
This hasn’t been the first major data leak from Facebook. Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal impacted 87 million users’ personal data. In 2019, the tech giant was slapped with a record $5 billion fine by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) due to the breaches that occurred with Cambridge Analytica. The regulator also forced Facebook to review its privacy practices and carry out internal audits.
The second event in the last few years raises serious questions about the privacy practices of the company. It may also cast a shadow on the company in general and as a social media platform in particular. However, Facebook as a whole has been diversifying itself and should be able to weather the storm. They probably will be coping with a massive fine for this particular breach though.