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Bogomil Shopov, a Bulgarian blogger and digital rights activist, bought 1.1 million Facebook names, user IDs and e-mails for the ridiculously low price of $5 (around £3). Yes, for a price of a Subway footlong, Shopov was able to get his hands on your personal data from Facebook. What a deal!
Luckily, Shopov isn’t out to spam people or anything. Instead, he wants to use this as an example of how terribly lax Facebook can be with its security. How did those names and e-mail addresses become available in the first place? Facebook apps. Forbes says:
According to the seller of the information, a Gigbucks user with the handle “mertem,” the data was collected from Facebook applications.”The information in this list has been collected through our Facebook apps and consists only of active Facebook users, mostly from the US, Canada, UK and Europe,” reads the Gigbucks post. “Whether you are offering a Facebook, Twitter, social media related or otherwise a general product or service, this list has a great potential for you.”
The personal data of Facebook users isn’t just from people who keep their profile public, Shopov said he found e-mail addresses that were private and hidden too. Facebook is currently looking into the breach of user data but they haven’t yet come to a resolution. We are at their mercy. [Forbes]
Oh, how I wish a footlong was £3…
I usually charge £40 a night but I suppose I could make an exception.
Bit behind here, Facebook have since contacted him and told him he must return the data, remove any comment about it from his blog and not mention that they contacted him. http://talkweb.eu/openweb/1842
Do Facebook think they have some sort of authority in telling him he needs to keep it quiet that they dropped a massive bollock? They have no power to tell him what he can and cannot say on his own blog. As for having to return the data, I’m sure they’d need to get a court order for that.
It’s taking the logic of the end user licencising agreements ( which tell you that you cant return the goods if you broke the seal buut there is no way you can see that term unless you are installing the item, which means you broke the seal) to another level. It’s just bullshit to frighten and intimidate people.
http://dilbert.com/fast/1999-02-12/