How easy would it be to compile a list of, say, 20 percent of Facebook's user base, including their full name, unique user ID and URL of their Facebook page? Awfully easy, it turns out.
Computer security consultant Ron Bowes did exactly that, BBC News reports. He snagged a full 100 million users in his research, all through the power of searching for what is freely available online.
Bowes was quick to note that the file he compiled did not include email addresses, phone numbers or other restricted information, and that everything added to the file was publicly available and in keeping with each user’s privacy settings on Facebook. The file does not represent an attack on Facebook nor a compromising of its security measures: Bowes simply scraped up the information about individual accounts that anyone could have uncovered, and he crammed it into one gargantuan document.
The file is spreading across the Internet rapidly, and it will probably be used much in the way a spammer’s e-mail database is used: to target the unsuspecting with phony friend requests, to send en masse invitations to spam-filled groups, and to coerce them into clicking on phishing links and other malicious URLs.
Are you on the list? You can check by downloading a torrent of the file. Note: It’s nearly 3GB in size.
Meanwhile, it’s probably a good idea to re-check your Facebook privacy settings and make the appropriate changes if you don’t want your profile information public.
Sumber: http://news.yahoo.com
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