Data up to 408 GB or 214 million users of Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn have been leaked. The personal data that has been leaked are in the form of email addresses, phone numbers and full names of users, to certain location data. So, it doesn’t target account passwords or financial information.
This is because Socialarks, a social media management company from China, only builds a database by collecting public information on Facebook and Instagram.
Launching Safety Detectives, the Socialarks database stores personal data such as phone numbers and email addresses of Instagram and LinkedIn users which users should not share with the public.
Safety Detectives said the vulnerability in this database was discovered last month, and has notified Socialarks after it was confirmed the Hong Kong-based company owned the server. The server was immediately secured on the same day.
Lack of Security on The Company’s Server
Lack of security on the company’s servers means anyone with an IP address can access a database containing millions of other people’s personal information.
According to Anurag Sen, Head of the Cybersecurity Safety Detectives Team, the targeted database contained more than 318 million records of personal information.
Sen et al are aware that all of the leaked data comes from social media platforms, which violate Facebook and Instagram’s terms of service.
This has the potential to enter the breach to mbanking. These data has the potential to be used to commit financial fraud on other platforms, including online banking.
Contact information can be used to target victims, including sending personalized e-mails containing the person’s personal information so that they are trusted, and leading [victims] to enter deeper into the realm of privacy.
Various personal information such as first and last names, home and email addresses, and cell phone numbers can be used by criminals to carry out mass attacks.
Socialarks was also reported to have experienced a similar data leak in August 2020, which caused 150 Facebook and Instagram user data to be stolen.
It is known that Sociolarks stores data from Facebook and Instagram users including long names, phone numbers and email addresses, profile photos, number of followers and user occupations.
Currently, Socialarks is headquartered in Shenzhen and Xiamen, China. This startup is a large company that has more than 10 branches in China.
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