Security News UK investigates Facebook over data breach, to raid Cambridge Analytica

BoraMurdar

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LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is investigating whether Facebook did enough to protect data after a whistleblower said a London-based political consultancy hired by Donald Trump improperly accessed information on 50 million Facebook users to sway public opinion.

Facebook (FB.O) shares closed down nearly 7 percent on Monday, wiping nearly $40 billion (£28.58 billion) off its market value as investors worried that damage to the reputation of the world’s largest social media network would deter users and advertisers.

Elizabeth Denham, the head of Britain’s Information Commission, is seeking a warrant to search the offices of consultancy Cambridge Analytica after a whistleblower revealed it had harvested the private information of millions of people to support Trump’s 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.


“We are looking at whether or not Facebook secured and safeguarded personal information on the platform and whether when they found out about the loss of the data they acted robustly and whether or not people were informed,” Denham told BBC Radio.

Full Article on Reuters
UK investigates Facebook over data breach, to raid Cambridge Analytica
 

TairikuOkami

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I wonder, what data is everyone talking about. The news make it sound, like some CIA stuff. The point of being on a social network is to share data about yourself to find friends and groups with common interests. It is not like most of the world is like in China, where disobedient citizens are denied to travel based on their social score.
 

Arequire

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Shame the media gave CA warning of the raid beforehand so they've had plenty of time to erase evidence. I doubt Facebook's hired auditors were racing to find the data either. Hopefully this investigation shutters CA and rolls along into May when GDPR comes into effect and the ICO can fine Facebook a cool $1.4 billion instead of the pocket change it can currently.

Fingers crossed this is a step on the road towards governments stepping up and enforcing tough regulation on companies like Facebook, who handle billions of peoples' private data but treat it with indifference and contempt.
 
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tim one

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Once again, the ease of Facebook to “protect” the data of its billions users confirms the principle that if you don't pay for a service, you're not a user and you are not a customer: you are just the product on sale.
 
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LASER_oneXM

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source (nakedsecurity.sophos.com): Facebook fallout: How to protect your data

Is it time to end your Facebook life?

Not deactivate, mind you – actually end things once and for all.

In the wake of Facebook having failed to protect user data from being drained by Cambridge Analytica, we’re talking about what’s involved in permanently deleting data that Facebook holds on us.

That’s likely to be too extreme for many of us. But at the very least, it’s definitely time to check Facebook privacy settings, audit Facebook apps, and consider turning off API sharing.

But first, a quick recap: over the weekend, news emerged about Facebook having lost control of 50 million users’ data.

Facebook, after a week of questioning from investigative reporters at the New York Times and the Observer, suspended data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica and its parent company Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), as well as data analytics specialist and Cambridge Analytica founder Christopher Wylie.

How do we escape?

If you’re not ready to part with Facebook entirely, you should at least take a look at who and what you’re sharing your information with on Facebook. That would entail the obvious:


Check your privacy settings

We’ve written about this quite a bit. Here’s a good guide on how to check your Facebook settings to make sure your posts aren’t searchable, for starters.


That post also includes instructions on how to check how others view you on Facebook, how to limit the audience on past Facebook posts, and how to lock down the privacy on future posts.

Those are just part of our 3 ways to better secure your Facebook account, so it’s also worth checking out that article to make sure you’re doing all three.

Next, it’s time to….
....
...
.......
 

AtlBo

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I can understand why it's tempting to say we need fewer regulations by governments in general. Regulations almost always seem to end up being restrictions on PC users somehow. Seems governments can never actually get to the bottom of a digitally related roadblock to progress (especially protection issues), and yet they continue to spew out new ways to control the internet and new ways to monitor for potentially illegal activity. Makes sense to want to oppose what appears to be a lack of respect for the legitimate and healthy activity that is crushed in the process. I mean, how many ideas have been stolen from someone who had a good idea by some agent of a government or government empowered company employee and then put to personal use? If it's one, it's a catastrophe in my opinion, but I suspect it has been many. Governments have extreme authority in many cases. Are they sure that all of those under their contract are behaving 100% ethically or legally? Easy to see why someone would want the governments to back off and go away so to speak.

However, I have a different look at this which this Facebook episode brings to light once again for me. Yes, once again Congress in the U.S. has been handed an opportunity. This time the opportunity is the opportunity to begin to straighten out whatever messes may have been created with ill advised cooperation on the part of U.S. agencies with businesses and/or politically motivated organizations. Hope they will see the light and press on and dig to the deepest depths for everything.

In the end, I don't think we need less from governments in terms of regulation. Instead, we need VERY surgical rules (regulations including regulation of government activities too) that are clearly defined and designed to best guarantee government its requirements for monitoring (support businesses and individuals), business requirements for secure sharing, and private requirements for the protection of ideas and creative content (also personal information and data). BIG challenge for government at this point to gain the knowledge required to create a monitorable playing field where referees and players can occupy their role without encroaching into each other's healthy competitive routines. After all, it's healthy routines that lead to success ultimately..."practice makes perfect".

One thing Congress should remember though. If they attempt to hide efforts to straighten things out, their efforts will meet with failure. This should be a VERY public discussion and investigation.
 
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upnorth

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SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has deleted the companies’ Facebook pages in response to the ongoing Cambridge Analytica brouhaha, joining some now-former Facebook users in their protest of the social media giant’s corporate behavior. The move comes a week after revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a British data firm that contracted with the Donald Trump presidential campaign, retained private data from 50 million Facebook users despite claiming to have deleted it.

New reporting on Cambridge Analytica has spurred massive public outcry from users and politicians, with even CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling it a "breach of trust." At least two lawsuits have been filed as a result. In a Friday morning Twitter exchange with Ryan Mac, a BuzzFeed News reporter, Musk wrote that he "didn’t realize" that SpaceX even had a Facebook page and that Tesla’s "looked lame anyway."

Source : Tesla and SpaceX just scrubbed their Facebook pages
 
D

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Good!

We are treated like a bunch of guinea pigs running around on a hamster wheel begging for some more food and water while Facebook continue to violate our trust time and time after again. They've proven themselves to be dishonest and not worthy of our time over the years.

And people like Elon Musk actually develop things to help the world, all Facebook care about is making more $$$$$$$$.
 

LorSafari

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Facebook delete, and the Facebook alternative is everywhere these days. And it turns out the news we have been gone through is not what we are interested in but what the giants think we should be interested in. Funny!
 
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ForgottenSeer 58943

Oh look, it comes right back to Israel again.. Why is it so much seems to always revert back to Israel as the root cause? Just in the last few months, Israeli spies 'supposedly' were hacking Kaspersky and found US Intel tools being examined. Intel, a largely Israeli firm was found to have backdoored it's chips going back to virtually the day Israeli Engineers took over development.. AMD was slandered by a firm linked to Israeli Intelligence/Corporations recently... The list goes on and on and now this?

9 explosive claims from Cambridge Analytica whistleblower's evidence to MPs
"People do get hurt at this firm and given that they work with Israeli private intelligence firms, who are willing to do essentially whatever you want them to do if you pay them - this is why so many people... are genuinely afraid to come forward and talk about the firm, because it's that intimidating."
 

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