Tag: Data Leak

Millions Of Instagram Influencers Had Their Personal Data Exposed By Mumbai Based Marketing Firm

In latest reports, a huge database which contained contact information and other sensitive data of millions of Instagram accounts has been discovered online. Hosted online by AWS (Amazon Web Services), the database had no sort of security detail to encrypt the data. Previously, any user could simply access the database and peek into over 49 million records present inside. It was later traced back to a Mumbai-based social media marketing organization called Chtrbox.

The marketing firm pays Instagram and other social media influencers to post sponsored (ad-revenue generating) content on their feeds. The data stored in the database included the total number of followers per account, engagement, reach, likes, shares and other sensitive information such as private contact information. Using this information, the firm calculated the net worth of the account and then determined how much it can pay an Instagram celebrity to post an advertisement.

Sources state that the database contained info about high-profile influencers, including popular food bloggers and celebrities. When sources contacted some influencers present in the list, some of them responded saying that it was indeed the same contact number and email address that they used while signing up for the Instagram account. Also, they did not have any involvement with Chtrbox either, which confirmed that the aforementioned information was being used without the consent of the user.

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As soon as sources reached out to Chatrbox, the marketing firm immediately took down the database from online servers and refused to respond to any forms of questions and queries whatsoever. The American social media company and the owner of Instagram, Facebook stated that it was investigating the matter of the security breach, and will reach out to the marketing organization to comprehend the source of the data and the public availability of the same.

May 21, 2019
Google’s New Extension Tells You If Your Password Is Unsafe

In this day and age where Internet has taken over everything, one can never be too careful. There have been several data breaches over the past few months which have made people anxious about privacy on internet. Google aims to minimize that anxiety by launching an extension called Password Checkup. The tool will help you check if your data credentials have been compromised in a previous data leak.

Password Checkup: How Does It Work?

The extension can be added to the Chrome browser to track login details every time a sign in occurs. It then searches through approximately 4 billion compromised credentials. The extension will then alert if the credentials have been part of a breach and if a password change is required. Google says that it won’t store any of the users data and that the extension will never reveal the credentials to Google. The aim of this added security is to prevent hijack of the extension’s functionality, which could then be used to gain access to a users private info.

According to the description of the extension, it will anonymously report information on the number of look-ups. Google is also looking to improve the way the extension works over time; hopefully it’ll be embedded into a future version of the Chrome browser so more users can take the necessary steps to protect their accounts. This seems like a great initiative by Google.

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Google hasn’t had the best reputation when it comes to data security. But, if their claims are true about not harvesting this data, this could be a great new add-on for people who are concerned about their privacy on the internet. If you are interested in checking out the extension, you can head to the Chrome Extension store, or alternatively click here.

February 7, 2019
Apple Blocks Google’s Internal Apps On iOS

Just after a few days of banning Facebook’s notorious internal apps on its iOS, Apple has now blocked Google for the same. The company can no longer run its internal apps on Apple’s platform following a privacy scare. This was reported by TechCrunch and Bloomberg’s Mark Bergen.

The main reason cited behind this decision is Google and Facebook’s use of these apps to monitor users activity. Apple’s move to block Google’s developer certificate comes just a day after Google disabled its Screenwise Meter app following press coverage. Google’s app also relied on Apple’s enterprise program. The program enables the distribution of internal apps within a company.

According to a statement by Google “We’re working with Apple to fix a temporary disruption to some of our corporate iOS apps, which we expect will be resolved soon.” This statement was given to Mark Bergen. Since that, Apple seems to have revoked Google’s apps.

Facebook’s Beef with Apple

This news comes days after Facebook was caught installing root certificates on iOS devices. These would help the company steal the usage data of the users. This was being done in exchange of an amount up to US $20. Apple also took necessary action against Facebook on the matter.

It was time for Apple to take a stand too, as the issues concerned privacy, a part where Apple claims to stand out. Incidents like these would’ve shown the company in a bad light. Since the news broke out, Facebook, in a statement to Bloomberg said “We can confirm that we have our enterprise certificate restored and we are working on getting our internal apps back up and running.”

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February 1, 2019
Facebook Paying Users in Exchange For Their Data

Facebook and controversies go hand in hand. Just last year, it was caught in a huge privacy scandal that brought Facebook a lot of hate; as it compromised the data of a lot of users. Looks like Facebook is caught in a similar scandal again. Reports show that Facebook is seeking people to test its research app. This is to spy on them in exchange of money.

Facebook did that to get data on its competitors, so the best way they thought they could accomplish it by asking the users for their data directly. The Facebook Research App, available for both Android and iOS. This App is installed through a website, which then installs certain certificates on your device. These certificates transfer data like your phone and web activity back to Facebook. This was compensated by an amount up to $20.

Spotted first by TechCrunch, The program is administered through beta testing services Applause, BetaBound and uTest; to cloak Facebook’s involvement. The program is referred to in some documentation as “Project Atlas”- a fitting name for Facebook’s effort to map new trends and rivals around the globe.

Facebook’s Affair With Data Theft

In its report, The publication said “The strategy shows how far Facebook is willing to go and how much it’s willing to pay to protect its dominance — even at the risk of breaking the rules of Apple’s iOS platform on which it depends. Apple could seek to block Facebook from continuing to distribute its Research app, or even revoke it permission to offer employee-only apps, and the situation could further chill relations between the tech giants.”

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Facebook has had a reputation for not caring about users privacy over the years. When it acquired the mobile data counter Onavo, it helped them track user app data. This led to Apple banning the app last year. The app is still available on Android. Over that, this incident doesn’t help the reputation of Facebook and may tarnish it further. Facebook hasn’t released a statement yet.

January 30, 2019