Facebook leaked personal data to advertisers - Symantec
Security company says profiles, photos and chat logs were accidentally made accessible to third-parties, en masse.
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Security company Symantec says Facebook accidentally "leaked" personal data, en masse, to advertisers.
In a security response post, Symantec said:
"Third parties, in particular advertisers, have accidentally had access to Facebook users’ accounts including profiles, photographs, chat, and also had the ability to post messages and mine personal information."
The bad news: tokens, or "spares keys" to applications were inadvertently granted to the creators of around 100,000 Facebook apps (many of them marketers or advertisers) as of April 11, according to a Symantec estimate. The security hole had been around for years. Potentially, millions of tokens were leaked.
The good news: Symantec informed Facebook, which took corrective action. In its own online post about the issue, the social network said the situation had been resolved.
Symantec said many advertisers, and other third-parties, were likely unaware they had accidentally been afforded access to users' personal details.
NBR staff
Wed, 11 May 2011
Wed, 11 May 2011
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Facebook leaked personal data to advertisers - Symantec
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