BANGALORE: Many thousands of Facebook accounts were subject to a spam attack globally via porn malware. Many users in India too suffered from the attack that unleashed massive quantities of violent and pornographic images across users' newsfeeds.
Facebook admitted that it experienced a spam attack that exploited a browser vulnerability. "Our team responded quickly and we have eliminated most of the spam caused by this attack. We are now working to improve our systems to better defend against similar attacks in the future," a Facebook spokesperson said. The social-networking company has urged its 800 million-plus users to remain vigilant to keep their accounts from being hijacked. In Bangalore, the porn malware lured people with texts such as ''Bangalore police: Party till the wee hours, 11.30 PM ban lifted', ''Date a stripper in Bangalore'', ''Popular Sandalwood actress raped and murdered'." When Facebook users clicked on these, malware acted and spread porn content to all friends. Many people complained that their photos and contact details were pushed onto some porn websites. None wants to report it to the police fearing loss of reputation,'' says Rohit Srivastwa, founder, Clubhack, a Pune-based white-hacker club.
Responding to these charges, Facebook said, "There have been inaccurate reports of Facebook users' accounts being hacked. This is not true. Users photos are not being transferred to an unwanted site and no accounts have been compromised."Bangalore's cyber crime police told TOI that they had not received any complaints till Wednesday evening. But cyber security experts say they are aware of some attacks. Vijay Mukhi, advisor on cyber security to the Indian government, says such cyber violations are plenty today, but none reports it to the police and therefore no data is available with the cyber police. Hacking Facebook accounts is quite easy and it is happening on various causes: to raise money, to steal databases/contacts of individuals or for accessing personal data. Facebook has grown so big so quickly and many social networking sites prefer ease of use over security and privacy,'' says Mukhi.
~PAPPU JOBS~
Facebook admitted that it experienced a spam attack that exploited a browser vulnerability. "Our team responded quickly and we have eliminated most of the spam caused by this attack. We are now working to improve our systems to better defend against similar attacks in the future," a Facebook spokesperson said. The social-networking company has urged its 800 million-plus users to remain vigilant to keep their accounts from being hijacked. In Bangalore, the porn malware lured people with texts such as ''Bangalore police: Party till the wee hours, 11.30 PM ban lifted', ''Date a stripper in Bangalore'', ''Popular Sandalwood actress raped and murdered'." When Facebook users clicked on these, malware acted and spread porn content to all friends. Many people complained that their photos and contact details were pushed onto some porn websites. None wants to report it to the police fearing loss of reputation,'' says Rohit Srivastwa, founder, Clubhack, a Pune-based white-hacker club.
Responding to these charges, Facebook said, "There have been inaccurate reports of Facebook users' accounts being hacked. This is not true. Users photos are not being transferred to an unwanted site and no accounts have been compromised."Bangalore's cyber crime police told TOI that they had not received any complaints till Wednesday evening. But cyber security experts say they are aware of some attacks. Vijay Mukhi, advisor on cyber security to the Indian government, says such cyber violations are plenty today, but none reports it to the police and therefore no data is available with the cyber police. Hacking Facebook accounts is quite easy and it is happening on various causes: to raise money, to steal databases/contacts of individuals or for accessing personal data. Facebook has grown so big so quickly and many social networking sites prefer ease of use over security and privacy,'' says Mukhi.
~PAPPU JOBS~
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