Private Messages from 81,000 Hacked Facebook Accounts for Sale

The BBC Russian Service has learned that at least 81,000 Facebook accounts have been compromised. Private messages have been published online and the perpetrators are trying to sell account login details. Facebook insists that its security has not been comprised and that it was likely the data had been obtained via malicious web browser extensions. The full details of the hack and the BBC’s investigation shed light into how our data is traded online.
The BBC understands many of the users whose details have been compromised are based in Ukraine and Russia. However, some are from the UK, US, Brazil and elsewhere.
The hackers offered to sell access for 10 cents (8p) per account. However, their advert has since been taken offline.
“We have contacted browser-makers to ensure that known malicious extensions are no longer available to download in their stores,” said Facebook executive Guy Rosen.
“We have also contacted law enforcement and have worked with local authorities to remove the website that displayed information from Facebook accounts.”