FACEBOOK REMOVES MALICIOUS ACCOUNTS

IN BRIEF: Facebook Inc has removed several malicious accounts and pages that advertised and sold social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and alleged credit card numbers of dozens of people and it will continue to do it if so needed.

----------------------------------------

Facebook spokesman assured to remove Posts containing information like social security numbers or credit card information on Facebook when Facebook becomes aware of it.

Facebook has also deleted almost 120 private discussion groups of more than 300,000 members, after being alerted by a report from journalist Brian Krebs that the groups flagrantly promoted a host of illicit activities, including spamming, wire fraud, account takeovers, and phony tax refunds.

The biggest collection of groups banned were those promoting the sale and use of stolen credit and debit card accounts, and the next largest collection of groups included those facilitating takeovers for online accounts such Amazon, Google, Netflix, and PayPal.

A Google search still pulls up a few public Facebook posts that offer to sell personal details including credit card numbers.

Hackers have advertised databases of private information on the social platform and that Facebook has held stolen identities and social security numbers for years.

It is reported, at least some of the data in these posts appeared real and it was confirmed the first four digits of the social security numbers, names, addresses, and dates of birth for four people whose data appears in a post from July 2014.

Tech companies are under intense scrutiny about how they protect customer data after Facebook was embroiled in a huge scandal where millions of users’ data were improperly accessed by a political consultancy.

KEEP PERSONAL INFORMATION SAFE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The big question most people asks – Who is responsible to protect one’s privacy? It should be known that everyone is responsible to protect his/her own privacy.

How do you do that? 

Treat the “about me” fields as optional.

Know the people you friend.

Become a master of privacy settings.

Create strong, private passwords.

Create and use an “off-limits” list.

Always log out when you’re done.

Limit/ deny access to third-part applications.

Get Alerts on Suspicious Activity. 

#FacebookSaga - Many Initiatives have been taken to protect personal information/Data. #DataProtection #Infosec - A big Question is, Are Individuals aware of their responsibility to keep their personal data protected?@cyberawaregov More needs to be done #Cybersecurity#GDPR pic.twitter.com/aQyh2tP9Cw

— YUSUPH KILEO (@YUSUPHKILEO) April 16, 2018

FACEBOOK F8 DEVELOPER CONFERENCE

It is shaping up to be the biggest Facebook event ever, with 5,000 developers flying in from around the world. They will hear exciting news about the company's plans to advance on many fronts, from artificial intelligence to virtual reality.

They'll also get the chance to interact with the senior team, and to find out how they can profit from this very powerful platform.

Last year, Mark Zuckerberg filled his F8 keynote speech with cool demos about augmented reality – This year's F8, he said he is going to share more about the work Facebook is doing to keep people safe, and to keep building services to help individuals connect in more meaningful ways.