How to check if you’re a victim of the Facebook data breach
By now you’ve probably already heard of the huge Facebook data breach, in which over half a billion Facebook users from over 100 countries had their personal data leaked that cybercriminals can get for free. What kind of data you ask? The breach includes full names, phone numbers, location tracking information, birthdates, bios and email addresses.
Why is this important?
This type of information is exactly what cybercriminals need for identity theft and targeted phishing attacks they can use to craft personalized emails with malicious payloads to infect personal and company computers to steal data and hold networks hostage with ransomware.
How can you find out if your information was leaked?
If you’ve been receiving more suspicious emails than usual, that could be a sign. Luckily, there are some free on-line resources where you can check to see if your info is out there.
#1 – Have I Been Pawned?
One of the most well-known sites that track data breaches is Have I Been Pwned. Just follow the link to the site and put in your email address or phone number. Yes, phone number searching – that’s new. The results will show not only if you’ve been part of the Facebook breach, but any other breach where your data was compromised.
Tip: To search by phone number, use the international dialing format. So for US-based phone numbers, add +1 before the area code and 7 digit number. No spaces or hyphens. So for example: +18088619595.
#2 – The News Each Day
The News Each Day erected a site specifically for users to check if they were a victim of this latest breach. You can only search by phone number and it won’t show if that number is involved in any other breaches but it’s quick, simple and can give you some peace of mind.
I personally looked up the cell phone numbers of my family members, staff and close friends. I recommend you do the same.
If you’re practicing good cyber hygiene and have a password manager in place and 2-factor authentication enabled on all available on-line services, this breach will be less impactful for you. If your company doesn’t and needs some guidance, feel free to reach out – we can help.
Stay safe out there
-A