Social Networks

Pierluigi Paganini August 20, 2019
Flaw in New Facebook Design Allowed Removal of Profile Photos

A security vulnerability in the Facebook design (FB5) could have allowed attackers to remove any photo from profiles of the users. The security expert Philippe Harewood is one of the security researchers that received early access by Facebook to the new FB5 design and discovered an important design flaw. Harewood explained that the issue affects the […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 20, 2019
Twitter bans 936 accounts that attempted to sow political discord in Hong Kong

Twitter announced it has banned 936 accounts managed by China-linked actors that attempted to sow political discord in Hong Kong. Twitter has observed and banned 936 accounts managed by China-linked actors that attempted to stir up riots and sow political discord in Hong Kong. The tweets aimed at discrediting the motivation of the Hong Kong […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 12, 2019
FBI is searching for contractors to monitor social media

The FBI is searching for contractors to monitor social media for potential threats, the announcement raises concerns for user privacy. The abuse of social media passwords for malicious purpose is quite common, for this reason, the FBI is searching for contractors to monitor them. However, monitoring activity could threaten user privacy and set up possible […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 02, 2019
Facebook dismantled influence campaigns focused on Middle East and Northern Africa

Facebook announced it dismantled covert influence campaigns in some countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, including one tied to the Saudi government. Facebook uncovered two separate influence campaigns, one originated in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, and another in Saudi Arabia. The campaigns appeared to be distinct and involved “coordinated inauthentic behavior” […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 29, 2019
Facebook deleted Russia-Linked efforts focusing on Ukraine ahead of the election

Facebook recently announced that it removed multiple pages, groups, and accounts tied to Russia involved in psyops ahead of the election in Ukraine. Facebook spotted four campaigns that appear independent, three of them associated with Russian threat actors. One of the operations involved 18 Facebook accounts, nine pages, and three groups. Threat actors attempted to […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 25, 2019
FTC fines Facebook $5B and obliges it to adopt a new privacy framework

The Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion for privacy violations and is instituting new oversight and restrictions on its business. The Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion for privacy violations over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The authorities are also instituting new oversight and restrictions on its business. In April 2018, Facebook revealed that […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 19, 2019
Israel surveillance firm NSO group can mine data from major social media

The Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group informed its clients that it is able to scoop user data by mining from major social media. The Financial Times reported that the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group informed its clients that it is able to mine user data from major social media. NSO is based in Herzliya, near […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 13, 2019
FTC approves a record $5 billion settlement with Facebook over Cambridge Analytica scandal

The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a record $5 billion settlement with Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook will be obliged to pay a $5 Billion fine to settle the investigation conducted by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In April 2018, Facebook revealed that […]

Pierluigi Paganini June 28, 2019
Italian data protection watchdog fines Facebook over Cambridge Analytica scandal

The Italian data protection watchdog fined Facebook for one million euros ($1.1 million) for violating privacy laws over the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. The Italian data protection watchdog, the DPA (“Garante per la protezione dei dati personali”), fined Facebook for one million euros ($1.1 million) for violating privacy laws over the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. “The Italian […]

Pierluigi Paganini June 09, 2019
Facebook is going to stop Huawei pre-installing apps on mobile devices

Facebook announced it would stop Huawei from pre-installing social networking apps on its smartphones to comply with US sanctions. Facebook announced it will no longer allow pre-installation of its social networking apps on Huawei smartphones to comply with the US ban on the Chinese tech giant. “We are reviewing the Commerce Department’s final rule and […]