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Facebook Gets HACKED: ‘It Was a Sophisticated Attack’

Feb. 15, 2013 11:08pm Jason Howerton

Facebook gets unwelcome look at hackers dark side

A member of the media takes pictures of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as he speaks at an event at Facebook’s headquarters office in Menlo Park, California, on January 15, 2012. Today, Facebook announced the limited beta release of Graph Search, a feature that will create a new way for people to navigate connections and search social networks. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook is getting an unwelcome look at the shady side of the hacking culture that CEO Mark Zuckerberg celebrates.

Intruders recently infiltrated the systems running the world’s largest online social network but did not steal any sensitive information about Facebook’s more than 1 billion users, according to a blog posting Friday by the company’s security team.

The unsettling revelation is the latest breach to expose the digital cracks in a society and an economy that is storing an ever-growing volume of personal and business data online.

The news didn’t seem to faze investors. Facebook Inc.’s stock dipped 10 cents to $28.22 in Friday’s extended trading.

The main building at Facebook’s Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters lists its address as 1 Hacker Way. From there, Facebook serves as the gatekeeper for billions of potentially embarrassing photos and messages that get posted each month.

This time, at least, that material didn’t get swept up in the digital break-in that Facebook said it discovered last month. The company didn’t say why it waited until the afternoon before a holiday weekend to inform its users about the hack.

It was a sophisticated attack that also hit other companies, according to Facebook, which didn’t identify the targets.

“As part of our ongoing investigation, we are working continuously and closely with our own internal engineering teams, with security teams at other companies, and with law enforcement authorities to learn everything we can about the attack, and how to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Facebook wrote on the blog.

Online short-messaging service Twitter acknowledged being hacked earlier this month. In that security breakdown, Twitter warned that the attackers may have stolen user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords belonging to 250,000 of the more than 200 million accounts set up on its service.

Late last month, both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal – two of the three largest U.S. newspapers – said they were hit by China-based hackers believed to be interested in monitoring media coverage of topics that the Chinese government deemed important.

Facebook didn’t identify a suspected origin of its hacking incident, but provided a few details about how it apparently happened.

The security lapse was traced to a handful of employees who visited a mobile software developer’s website that had been compromised, which led to malware being installed on the workers’ laptops. The PCs were infected even though they were supposed to be protected by the latest anti-virus software and were equipped with other up-to-date protection.

Facebook linked part of the problem to a security hole in the Java software that triggered a safety alert from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last month. The government agency advised computer users to disable Java on their machines because of a weakness that could be exploited by hackers.

Oracle Corp., the owner of Java, has since issued a security patch that it says has fixed the problem. In its post, Facebook said it received the Java fix two weeks ago.

Facebook never mentioned the word “hack” in describing the breach. That, no doubt, was by design because hacking is a good thing in Zuckerberg’s vernacular.

To most people, hacking conjures images of malevolent behavior by intruders listening to private voicemails and villains crippling websites or breaking into email accounts.

Zuckerberg provided his interpretation of the word in a manifesto titled “The Hacker Way” that he included in the documents that the company filed for its initial public offering of stock last year.

“The word ‘hacker’ has an unfairly negative connotation from being portrayed in the media as people who break into computers,” Zuckerberg wrote. “In reality, hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done.”

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Comments (47)

omgfolks
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 3:24pm
The sheep have fallen prey to the wolves once again. Putting your information on the net is asking for trouble, people think it is cool, that is makes sense, that it works for them, but in reality it is just a matter of time before your hacked and taken advantage of. If a person would just employ some common sense they would find out that they do not need all of the techno garbage. A simple shredder will suffice or a safety deposit box for valuable. The simple steps to protects are still the best lie of defense against criminals getting your accounts or private info. BUT NO! The sheep follow the GREED MONGER who reaps Billions from them and they still get hacked!

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Col. HawK
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 1:09pm
This is my 2 cents worth….. The FB motto is ‘Hack Everything’…. I am not surprised people are trying to hack FB, they eventually will bring it down, that’s for sure…. The social media phenomenon is coming to an end…. I see hackers everywhere I go, and I swear, if I ever get to know one of these people the tables will turn and see how they like it….
Cheers.

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Chuck7884
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 12:35pm
Hacked and what did they take?.

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zoro51
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 11:49am
a company that gets a BILLION in tax breaks IS A SOCIALIST SUCK UP COPORATION NOT AN AMERICAN MADE COMPANY

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garbagecanlogic
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 11:17am
Who in the hell cares??? Only the egotistical use it anyway.

Praise Be To Obama. Psalm 109:8

The U.N. Out Of The U.S.
The U.S. Out Of The U.N.

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Saff SGT
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 10:14am
Google is no better they are all spies. i will reserve all final decisions as who is an enemy as things develop. then we take action

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- wilbstal
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 2:43pm
  yes Google will be trouble down the road hope they are better on the battle field as they are on line
  
  Report this comment
Saff SGT
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 10:09am
we need a good non Violating 1st amendment site where we can say what we want regardless of cry babies and progressive losers that dont want freedoms in America

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- DonnaA
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 10:42am
  We have one. http://www.independentamericanparty.org
  
  Report this comment
Saff SGT
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 9:54am
lets hope soon we can shut down these Obama ass kisser sites that violate the 1st amendments all the time. plus other rights Americans need to ward off idiots that run these sites

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Saff SGT
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 9:51am
Face book has violated the 1st amendment and they are Communist bastards I hope they get destroyed and the owners put in prison or deported back to a Commie Country of their choosing

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LOJ
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 9:24am
Everyone trying to get you to go on facebook….are people totally out of it…they keep pushing it so they can get your private information.. Facebook is where the left progressives attack those of us who have a right to free speech to discourage us from speaking out.

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woodyee
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 8:37am
SCREW-WINDOWS – Posted on February 15, 2013 at 11:25pm
“Can’t believe people invest in something with no physical value.”
———————————————————————————————
You mean like – Paper Money? Or the modern-day coinage representing a dollars worth of I-don’t-know-what?

I’m with you there, pal. May the bones of Woodrow Wilson, FDR and LBJ be used as a doorbell to h3ll for eternity, and may their offspring lose their minds to internal parasites, representing the ones they created for our Nation.

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woodyee
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 8:22am
With the government openly in favor of leashing the First Amendment, and also wanting to control the internet, I’d start my hunt for the hackers at Obammy’s lips and phone – crap rolls downhill.

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betterpart
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 8:17am
Considering that fb removes many conservatives sites, views, and opinions the way the creepy Huffingon Post does—I’d say good for them. For now they’re just a trend and fad, sooner or later they’ll do a crash and burn. Good riddance when it happens.

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NoMoMrNiceGuy
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 8:01am
Facebook and Goggle are evil – period

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- RogueRequest
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 9:41am
  How can you say that either of them are evil. I don’t particularly care for either company and yet I believe they are products of what the American Consumerist culture has made them into. I don’t use Facebook but I do find Google to be a very useful tool, I also have an Android based phone. Apple is no more evil and yet look at their hypocrisy. They used to celebrate the fact that they would steal idea that they needed to advance, because you can’t slow progress. Now they are one of the most litigious companies in the world. Buy and sewing and buying and sewing. Hipster.
  
  Report this comment
GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 7:44am
Facebook doesn’t need to be hacked…everybody is happily and freely giving all their info and photos to everybody else…..self-profiling themselves by clicking “likes”. The ones needing a “sneak peak” from time to time at their algorithms and Commercial DB aren’t better than them in any way: Google, Microsoft, Apple…

I use my computer assuming that every click will be forever on the Internet, and that thing called privacy is just….a myth….that thing never existed and what is private today, will be public tomorrow anyway, and so on. Everything has backdoors, etc, etc…it’s a warn fantasy believing there is privacy anymore….

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- symphonic
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 12:54pm
  you have to live in this world. hiding from the world by not using Facebook is delusional thinking. you are not hid no matter what. even phone lines are listened to. big deal. no one has gone down by a govt using facebook against them in any significant number for doing NORMAL things. now anthony werner sending nasty pics is a good reason he should be dismissed, no?
  
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GuruMeditation
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 6:19am
It’s the Assault E-101 Keyboard. Ban them!

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- The-Monk
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 6:45am
  Hi GuruMeditation,
  
  I prefer
  
  short
  
  controlled
  
  blasts….
  
  Report this comment
- GuruMeditation
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 7:12am
  and limit legal keyboards to only support characters [Aa-Zz] and [0-9]. Special characters are just do dangerous and only belong on the battlefield.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 7:17am
  Yes, Special Ops keys in the battlefield only.
  
  Report this comment
- GuruMeditation
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 7:20am
  *too dangerous
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 7:24am
  too dangerous
  to dangerous
  two dangerous
  2 dangerous
  
  Damn Qwerty 101 is trying out it’s camouflage again…..
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 7:33am
  The Qwerty 101 Assault Keyboard on drugs….
  
  ☺ ☻ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ • ◘ ○ ◙ ♂ ♀ ♪ ♫ ☼
  
  Report this comment
- woodyee
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 8:28am
  Keyboard makers should be made to remove the letters L, T, Y, arrows, and X.
  
  L looks like a gun, T like a tank turret, Y like a slingshot, arrows signify violence, and X is offensive in that it can be misconstrued as judgmental, like crossing out an error.
  
  It’s easy being liberal…
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 8:45am
  Don’t know if this will work……
  
  ☼ ☼
  ☼
  ☼ ☼
  ☼
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 8:48am
  Nope…. didn’t work.
  
  Report this comment
The-Monk
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 5:39am
‘It Was a Sophisticated Attack’

And;

“The security lapse was traced to a handful of employees who visited a mobile software developer’s website that had been compromised….”

Don’t seem to go together….

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media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 4:43am
Google led the way with java? Bloated code that is hard to manage will make it easier for nimbler companies to create safer, rival products, and with large numbers of investors, many will say to the government, we are too big to fail, giving government ownership of either a social media site or a search engine into the hands of a political party?

How many companies already rely on code from Google? I’ve looked at Facebook, I just don’t see the appeal of spending time learning that application, with all the censorship, all the limitations, instead of creating your own web site that your friends can go to?

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fedlibertarian
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 2:23am
burn it down, ANONYMOUS

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- betterpart
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 3:26am
  Ditto that. The joint is largely a hangout for non-productive, squatting meth-saturated libs or those who team up with others whose lives are dull and tiresome. Who else would sit around the majority of the day talking about themselves?
  
  Report this comment
Sunset1221
Posted on February 16, 2013 at 12:45am
I use it.I like it and hope it’s around FOREVER.The key is not to put eerytime you take a crap on there.
You don’t put your picture,your phone no.address and all your personal info,where ya live.I don’t put personal things on Facebook.

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MrKnowItAll
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 11:43pm
FaceBook is Toast! Get your Money Out Now! Ask a 13 year old today what MySpace Is. All they will know to say is….Your In It!. PLUS. People NOW want it to FAIL! IT WILL. BYE! TOM!

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- CatB
  Posted on February 15, 2013 at 11:49pm
  My son did a Facebook update on his phone this week .. now his phone is NOT working .. I don’t think we are getting the whole story … people are going to be P.O.’d when the truth comes out!
  
  Report this comment
Babci
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 11:35pm
I can’t believe people are on Facebook…this company is “owned” by Obama…you are all pawns.

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- kalli
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 12:47am
  You are absolutely right. I was talked into joining by friends and family and lasted all of 2 weeks. That’s when ovomit held his townhall on it, and I couldn’t shutdown fb fast enough. I only use my old cell phone that allows texting, photos, videos. I’m so sick of the gov’t takeover of everything.
  
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- Saff SGT
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 10:06am
  you are correct thats why it is important to keep your 2nd amenedment rights intact, we will all need them soon
  
  Report this comment
OlefromMN
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 11:27pm
You post it on the internet, expect it to be “hacked” at least once.

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- The-Monk
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 5:50am
  Hi OlefromMN,
  
  “You will post it on the internet, expact it to be “hacked” at leest once.”
  
  LOL…. couldn’t help myself. : )
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on February 16, 2013 at 7:13am
  Hi OlefromMN,
  “You post it on the internet, expect it to be “hacked” at least once.”
  
  You have noooooo idea. Hope to tell you about it soon. : )
  
  Report this comment
SCREW-WINDOWS
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 11:25pm
Can’t believe people invest in something with no physical value.

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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 11:24pm
Good, I hope people leave FaceBook, in droves.

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