Facebook archive tool exposed contact info for 6 million users

[Are_grits_groceries]

Facebook's software for letting users download their data inadvertently exposed the contact information of 6 million users, the company said today in a post on its security blog. Phone numbers and email addresses that are stored as part of its friend-recommendation algorithms were inadvertently attached to their contacts' Facebook accounts, so that someone downloading an archive through Facebook's Download Your Information tool may have received other people's information.

Facebook noted that the information was not necessarily accurate or up-to-date. The company has not received any complaints that users' information was used maliciously, it said. In most cases, a person's contact information was only downloaded "once or twice," according to Facebook. Developers and advertisers cannot use the tool and therefore did not receive any contact information.

"We'll work doubly hard to make sure nothing like this happens again."

The bug was uncovered through the company's White Hat program, which enables security researchers to submit vulnerabilities in exchange for cash rewards. After verifying the bug, Facebook shut down the archive tool for a day while it fixed the problem.

Affected users will be notified by email. The company tried to play down the possible impact of breach: "Although the practical impact of this bug is likely to be minimal since any email address or phone number that was shared was shared with people who already had some of that contact information anyway, or who had some connection to one another, it's still something we're upset and embarrassed by, and we'll work doubly hard to make sure nothing like this happens again."
http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/21/4453214/facebook-archive-tool-exposed-contact-info-for-6-million-users

Ooooopsie......
Clowns....

[graham4anything]

1. A few Americans worried about the NSA, yet so so so many Americans are on facebook

the irony is always amazing

How many 100s of millions are on facebook, and how many millions wrote the tiniest details of ones life for the whole world to see.
and thought nothing of it.

Let alone all those pictures.

Yet the vast majority of Americans do NOT find the NSA issue to be of major important in America

even though a small minority of people seem to.

The interesting question is, before a month ago, how many of those professing concern about the NSA were themselves one of those on facebook?
And how many of those had all their info up?

What I don't get is, seeming Zucky and the others that created the whole system in the first place created it to get dates
(when one thinks about that, didn't people think that was the ultimate in creepy?) and that the names on their lists didn't even
know there was a list back then (at least according to the movie as I can't say I know anything before the movie came out about the ins and outs of facebook as I am not a facebookie. Seems like they had data bases of every student in schools, didn't they?)

ewwwww.

Wonder too, has anyone who is a regular facebooker now given it up?

Doesn't Ron and Rand Paul have major social media sites?
While they claim they are against anything, I bet they cull and track and KNOW the info of everyone who ever signed up,
or even clicked on their sites.
(after all, I bet there are emails sent and tweets sent especially at fund raising time, NO???)

The irony is amazing. The disconnect is even more amazing

(this whole post is AN OPINION and it's mine.

and, does the NRA have a facebook page, and hey, I bet everyone who signed up and sent them money, PROUDLY gave them
their name and address so they can get the wonderful stickers and buttons and all
(and isn't it tax free, so one keeps good records of that).

yeah, those civil libertarians like the Paul's and the NRA.

Ironic, huh?

[Are_grits_groceries]

2. Ya know,

you may have a point.
However it is lost in the verbose statement that you post. This is a signature of a lot of your posts. You carry on ad nauseum and whatever real statement you want to make is drowned.

I have posted my own lengthy threads and such. However you have made it an art form. I honestly don't bother to read all of your posts because of that. I did read this one before I answered here.

In addition, you repeat the same views over and over with little new info or expression.

Just because you enter longer posts, more posts, and repeat the same thing over and over does not make you right. You might be right about some items, but sifting through your encyclicals to find it isn't worth it.

Put a pithy summary in a first paragraph and carry on after that. At least people might have a glimmer of what you are talking about before they abandon reading it.