Facebook ‘left HALF A BILLION users’ private data exposed on Amazon’s cloud servers in latest security breach’
At least 540million records on Facebook users have been stored on the servers and includes information like identification numbers, comments, reactions and account names
HALF a billion records of Facebook users' private data have been sitting in plain sight on Amazon cloud servers, security researchers have revealed.
The shocking discovery was made by researchers at UpGuard, a cybersecurity firm, according to Bloomberg.
The revelation is just the latest of security blunders by the social media giant.
It comes just a year after the Cambridge Analytica scandal exposed just how unsecure Facebook users' information was when it was revealed more than 87m users' date had been collected and shared with the Trump-affiliated campaign research firm.
Researchers found that Cultura Colectiva, a media company based in Mexico City, openly stored 540million records on Facebook users with the information including identification numbers, comments, reactions and account names.
The database has since been closed after Facebook was alerted.
Both companies are among more than 150, including Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, that struck deals with Facebook for access to the personal information of hundreds of millions of its users.
Under the terms of those deals, Facebook reportedly allowed device makers access to friend lists, contact information, and sometimes even private messages — and not always with consent.
Facebook is facing a slew of lawsuits and regulatory inquiries over its privacy practices, including probes by the US Federal Trade Commission and two state agencies in New York.
Facebook said it was cooperating with investigators in multiple federal probes, without addressing the New York grand jury inquiry specifically.
"We've provided public testimony, answered questions, and pledged that we will continue to do so," Facebook said in a statement.
Facebook has defended the data-sharing deals, first reported in December, saying none of the partnerships gave companies access to information without people's permission.
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