Has Facebook Been Hacked?
Posted by Patrick Murphy on Tue, Nov 15, 2011
The reports are coming in thick and fast from across the globe: Facebook users are today being flooded with graphic images depicting violence and pornography. The Daily Mail, ZDnet, The Huffington Post and TNW have all published stories on this suspected hacking.
What exactly is going on with Facebook?
It seems that hackers have hijacked the accounts of millions of users, planting a virus that distributes (or shares) hardcore pornography, images of graphic violence and sickening scenes on their profiles. Despite the very tight controls imposed by Facebook on what content can or can’t be posted, Facebook seems powerless to stop the material from flooding user’s newsfeeds.
The situation started only a couple of days ago, but as the definition of a virus tells us: the situation is getting quickly worse.
What has caused it?
A virus that targets the new “timeline” feature in Facebook may be causing the problems. The virus tempts users into giving it access to their profiles by offering exclusive images of celebrities: then floods their person accounts with the offensive images. Users who are friends with this victim then start seeing the graphic images on their on newsfeed.
Another theory is that the hackers are exploiting gaps in Facebook’s own service and code, and does not require users to “opt-in”, as it were.
Some users are being told by their friends that they have been sending bogus requests to click on links to videos, have been sending out suspect chat messages, and have been sending mass messages out encouraging users to click on suspicious links. Another tactic the virus uses is to tag users friends in photos, tricking them into viewing offensive content.
Who is behind the Facebook hacking?
Surprise! Most people are blaming Anonymous, the infamous hacking group. Anonymous has previously threatened to attack Facebook, and for much of the year people across the globe expected a major attack on November 5. That attack never materialized. Will Anonymous turn out to be behind this scandal? We will have to wait and see.
For now, we advice all Facebook users to first check their security and privacy settings, and change their password. Be vigilant and think before clicking links on Facebook or “liking” any content.
Stay tuned for more updates on this story. Have you seen the offensive images on your newsfeed or has this affected you? Please let us know.
Check out this FREE webinar on 'Facebook for Business' and help improve social media marketing!
