Data Breach
Facebook (Cambridge Analytica) Data Breach
87.0M records exposed • January 2015
A company called Cambridge Analytica tricked Facebook users into taking a quiz. The quiz secretly collected data on them and all their friends, then used it to target political ads.
What Happened
Cambridge Analytica harvested data from 87 million Facebook users through a personality quiz app. The data was used for political advertising targeting without user consent.
Attack method: API abuse via third-party app
What Data Was Exposed
Profile data, Likes, Friend networks, Political views, Location data
Is your business exposed?
What to Do If You're Affected
- 1.
Review your Facebook app permissions
- 2.
Revoke access from suspicious apps
- 3.
Adjust Facebook privacy settings
Lessons for Businesses
- • Third-party app access can be abused
- • Social network data is valuable for manipulation
- • Users need more control over their data
Sources
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