Techtree News Staff, Jul 18, 2008 1846 hrs IST
While it's a small data glitch, it could have serious repercussions if exploited by identity thieves.
Last week, birthday details of over 80 million FaceBook users were inadvertently exposed due to a bug in the test version of the web site.
Sophos Senior Technology Consultant Graham Cluely discovered the bug while he was checking the new Facebook design. He noted that birth dates of some of his very reclusive and privacy-obsessed acquaintances were popping up when actually they should have been hidden.
While Facebook does allow the user to control who can have access to private information, the information was accessible to all users online in this case. Although a small glitch, this could have a serious impact as identity thieves can misuse this valuable piece of information.
According to Cluely, the new profile page essentially ignored the privacy setting to withhold the data of birth. On Wednesday, Facebook issued a statement saying, "For a brief period of time, a small number of users were able to access a private beta of Facebook's new site design meant only for developers. During that time, some of those users had their birthdays revealed due to a bug."
However, there is no information as to how long the data was exposed and how many people noticed it as the issue was patched within hours of its discovery. Cluley himself did not consider this a major data breach, but he said it should serve as a warning to people who put a lot of information on social networks. He added, "It raises a more serious question which is, 'Can you trust these social networks to look after your data properly?'"
Source: PC World
USER COMMENTS
VIEW ALL LATEST
AMD Kuma Coming Soon!
News > Hardware , August 29, 2008 1820 hrs IST
AMD has revealed plans about its upcoming range of processors, including Phenom and Kuma, to its channel partners in a recent email. ...
Roundup: IFA 2008
News > Consumer Electronics , August 29, 2008 1800 hrs IST
The Berlin IFA 2008 has seen the annual event transform from an industrial expo into a consumer electronics event. ...
Android Market - Apple App Store Killer?
News > Telecom , August 29, 2008 1720 hrs IST
At the Android Market, the content developers will have freedom to make their content available openly unlike the Apple App Store ...
IPTV: iControl Now in Rural Rajasthan
News > Internet , August 29, 2008 1557 hrs IST
BSNL and Aksh Optifibre have announced the launch of iControl in Kukus village of Jaipur district, in what is touted to be the first-ever IPTV service in rural India. ...
iPhone 3G Connectivity Issues Tech Details
News > Telecom , August 29, 2008 1530 hrs IST
An AT&T insider claims the latest iPhone update fixed the connectivity issues dogging the iPhone. Power consumption the cause of connectivity issues; Infineon gets clean chit. ...
MOST REQUESTED REVIEWS
Internet NEWS
|
IPTV: iControl Now in Rural RajasthanBSNL and Aksh Optifibre have announced the launch of iControl in Kukus village... |
|
Yahoo! Mash: Rest in PeaceYahoo has announced the demise of its social network experiment. |
|
LiL: India's Answer to Twitter, MoreLifeinLines, a.k.a LiL, allows you to share your experiences and thoughts... |
Internet REVIEWS
|
Opera 9.5 - Now leaner and meaner!Reviews | Software | Internet | 13 Jul 2008 Opera is more than just a browser. It's a browser, email client, rss reader,... |
|
Firefoxing away to Version 3Reviews | Software | Internet | 06 Jul 2008 The enhancements to the latest version though not revolutionary are certainly... |
|
Tata Indicom Plug 2 SurfReviews | Peripherals | Networking | 11 Oct 2007 One internet connection device for your laptop as well as desktop PC |
Internet USER REVIEWS
|
BSNL Broadband Service BSNL Broadband ReviewInternet | BSNL Broadband Service | Sun, 24 Jun 2007 If you're contemplating on getting a new broadband service for yourself, and... |
|
TATA INDICOM BROADBANDInternet | TATA INDICOM | Tue, 27 Mar 2007 |
MOST POPULAR NEWS
MOST POPULAR REVIEWS
MOST POPULAR GAMES
MOST POPULAR DOWNLOADS
|
MiniLyrics... |
|
Sony Ericsson update| System Tools | ... |
|
Satsuki Decoder Pack| Multimedia Tools | ... |
i wan to see my result my seat no.19106
by bhakti aundhkar, mumbai, on Jul 23, 2008 12:19 PM, Report abuse Reply
facebook needs to take some responsibility here and inform its users. this isn't the first time. When I log in I want to know that the information is personal and not everyone can see. Im am very dissapointed. get some better security already. An uhappy user.
by annette bouvier, otterburne.canada, on Jul 19, 2008 03:47 AM, Report abuse Reply
why cant i log in has it effected me?
by annemarie rice, pontefract, on Jul 19, 2008 03:45 AM, Report abuse Reply
Think I might have been caught up in the birthday bug just now as it's kicked me off the site
by tuppennychef, essex, on Jul 19, 2008 03:39 AM, Report abuse Reply
"It raises a more serious question which is, 'Can you trust these social networks to look after your data properly?'" Well, since we choose to offer our infomation, we also choose to accept the risk of something malfunctioning like this. If you are that worried about your info getting spread to anybody, then I dunno... hmmm.... don't post it?
by Tommy Barr, Flin Flon, on Jul 19, 2008 03:34 AM, Report abuse Reply
Exactly why i only give out info i wouldn't be concerned about being leaked i.e. i give my month and day but not year....
by Francine, Manchester, on Jul 19, 2008 12:36 AM, Report abuse Reply