Monday, January 24, 2011
Hackers drive Facebook upgrades.
Tunisia hacked Facebook (Glad I’m not in Tunisia: I live Facebook). To kill political protests, the government injected a key logger into Facebook, stealing credentials. Joe Sullivan secured Facebook within the week and ended the madness. This event worries me because I could be the next victim. Facebook knows me better than my bank. It knows who my friends are. It knows my likes and interests. It even knows what I look like. I’ll bet this intimate info is worth gold to someone. What's more, Sullivan's patch is not implemented in the states. Glad I’m not in Tunisia? Facebook is fine in Tunisia; the problem is here. What I'd like to see is my cookies protected from students using Firesheep. I'd like to see SSL/TLS obliterate sidejacking. Kashmir Hill talked with Facebook representatives and says we can look forward to a secure Facebook if hacking gets worse. A thanks goes out to all the pioneering hackers (and their victims) for goading Facebook toward a safer future.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Your post speaks to the fact that anonymity is security in our digital world. People who can remain insignificant are the only ones who can expect safety from personalized electronic potshots (although carpet-bombing tactics like bank password collecting mean that even the inconspicuous can never completely rest easy).
ReplyDeleteI suppose conspicuous people have always been in more danger than the rest of us, but in the Internet Age this principle is greatly exaggerated. The electronic interconnectedness we all experience makes every individual instantly vulnerable to the whims of countless others. Any person unfortunate enough to fall out of favor in the public's eye is only seconds away from the malice of millions. Such immediate danger is practically without precedent in history.
This is a very controversial topic. Social networking has been growing so much and I often wonder if anyone has stopped to consider the consequences. I liked how you mentioned that facebook knows so much about you. Your friends, your family, your face. It is scary to think if that information was sold or used for a bad purpose. It was a very thought provoking post. Thanks.
ReplyDelete