So Facebook is in hot water again. But this time, it’s due to a potential security leak. It’s another Facebook venerability exposed.
So here it is. A cyber security firm they call Up Guard discovered over 500 million Facebook records in a public server. To be more specific, a media company in Mexico named Cultura Collectiva left such records in an Amazon S3 server. These records include names, comments, posts, and likes. It may not sound like much. But if you look at previous leaks, look at what a little leak can lead to. Also keep in mind the Amazon S3 server they used has no password. Therefore, anybody who wants to can access it with little struggle.
Then there is former app maker At The Pool. The same security company, Up Guard, found over 22,000 users’ Facebook accounts just sitting there, ripe for the taking. These accounts includes names, posts, friends’ lists, group listings, etc. According to TechCrunch, Facebook reached out to Amazon, and asked them to get the remove the data before it falls into the wrong hands. But so far, we haven’t heard anything from Amazon nor At The Pool.
This isn’t the first time Up Guard caught Facebook with their pants down. Because back in 2018, they found over 48 million Facebook records just floating around. However, I want to get off Facebook for a minute. Because this is a great time for Amazon to do the right thing. In this case, it’s erase those hundreds of millions of files off the venerable S3 server. If I were a leader of this IT service giant, I would do so like yesterday. Because what if these things did get in the wrong hands? Then, what if they did get exploited, and ruined the lives of so many millions? Could they have that on their conscious?