Networking nightmare
A security consultant has posted the personal details of 100m Facebook users online, apparently to highlight security issues.
According to the BBC, Ron Bowes scanned profiles using a piece of code and collected data not protected by users' privacy settings. He then published the list as a downloadable file including the URL of every searchable user's profile, their unique ID and name.
Distributed by Pirate Bay, the list has been downloaded by over 1,000 users, but Facebook has said all the information on the list was already in the public domain online.
The social networking giant told the BBC: "People who use Facebook own their information and have the right to share only what they want, with whom they want, and when they want. In this case, information that people have agreed to make public was collected by a single researcher and already exists in Google, Bing, other search engines, as well as on Facebook. No private data is available or has been compromised."
Facebook has repeatedly come under fire for ‘confusing' security settings. Simon Davies of Privacy International reportedly said Facebook should have anticipated such an ‘attack' and put measures in place to prevent the mass collection of users' information.
"It is inconceivable that a firm with hundreds of engineers couldn't have imagined a trawl of this magnitude and there's an argument to be heard that Facebook have acted with negligence, he reportedly said, blaming the site's security settings.
In response to the furore surrounding its settings Facebook has recently simplified its privacy controls, yet critics have blasted the firm's decision to continue to make it a conscious decision to opt-out of sharing certain pieces of information online, arguing profiles should be secure by default.
Facebook has reportedly compared itself to a phone book, claiming some people join the site in order to be found by others.
"If someone does not want to be found, we also offer a number of controls to enable people not to appear in search on Facebook, in search engines, or share any information with applications," it added.
Davies told the BBC there are now many concerned users who will be wondering who has their data, but added it was a somewhat ‘ethical attack' as more personal data such as phone numbers, addresses and phone numbers could have been collected and published, but were not.
Whether such ‘attacks' will taint the popularity of the site remains to be seen with Facebook recently celebrating 500m members across the globe.
