Some are calling it the worst Facebook hack of all time. Others are calling it a giant ruse and much ado about nothing.
Regardless of where you sit on the fence with the latest cybersecurity news about Facebook, one thing's for sure: Any news involving Facebook is still a very big deal to the public.
Last month, Facebook engineers recognized unusual activity within their systems, and the company announced a network attack had exposed personal information of roughly 50 million users. The hackers reportedly exposed a code feature that allowed access to accounts.
It's news that Facebook desperately didn't need. Facebook connects to multiple apps and services, so a hack can be extremely scary. Facebook has gone on record to say no third-party apps were affected, but investigations are still ongoing.
With everything that's happened (or not happened, if you're on the side that all of the news was made up or exaggerated), many Facebook users are understandably concerned about the breach and the unanswered questions the breach provides.
What information was leaked? What did the reason or motive for the breach? Exactly what did the hackers want? And what damage did third-party sites actually go through?
As a Facebook user, there are a few steps that can be taken to keep your Facebook account — and the third-party apps associated with them — safe from future attacks. And while they may seem like elementary rules of social media cybersecurity, here are three that seem to be forgotten and only remembered when a big breach takes place.
Change that password — and remix it
Seems easy enough, right? A simple changing of your password periodically can assist majorly in keeping your online content safe. Changing passwords is a basic — yet often forgotten — step that can be very beneficial after a breach in that it will always keep the most professional hacker guessing.
And when changing a password, it's always a good idea to make it difficult, yet easy to remember. A combination of numbers, letters and symbols will work. Feel free to use a symbol in place of a number. It's a simple move that will help keep your account secure.
Recognize phishing attacks
Information on the hackers and the ramifications of the actual hack is still a mystery, but one question involves whether or not hackers whether or not it was done for phishing purposes.
Some of the best hackers will research their targets and do so by pretending to be friends, associates or relatives.
We've all received the friend request of someone we thought we were already following. And some of us actually accept those requests. It's the perfect scam that sets you up for a prime phishing attack.
Log in with extra security
With anything digital, we're starting to see two-factor authentication more and more. For those who don't know, two-factor authentication simply is added security that ensures that you and only you are the person who will access your account — even if another person knows your password.
According to Facebook, those who turn on the two-factor authentication feature will be "asked to enter a special login code or confirm your login attempt each time someone tries accessing Facebook from a computer or mobile device we don't recognize." Alerts can be provided if someone other than you tries to log in to your account.
Facebook's cybersecurity took a public relations blow, but it doesn't have to be a major knockout blow for anyone else. Let privacy be a priority again — and not an afterthought. Be safe from hackers worldwide, and be a step ahead of this breach.
