Phone numbers of nearly 500 million WhatsApp users have been stolen and put on sale on a “well-known” hacking community forum, according to a report by Cybernews. The database, allegedly from 2022 containing this private information, spans users from 84 countries including the US, the UK, Egypt, Italy, and India. The hacker behind the breach claims all numbers belong to seemingly “active” WhatsApp users.

WhatsApp data of 500 million users 'on sale', says report

Brazil's Ministry of Justice fined social media giant&nbsp;Facebook 6.6 million-real ($1.64 million) for improperly sharing user data on Monday.

According to the ministry's&nbsp;statement, the fine is the first-ever applied to Facebook in Brazil and is related to the misuse of data by Cambridge Analytica in 2018. Facebook, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, has been ordered to pay the fine within 30 days.

The ministry's department of consumer protection said it had found that data from 443,000 Facebook users was made improperly available to developers of an App called 'thisisyourdigitallife.'

The data was being shared for "questionable" purposes, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the world's largest social network failed to provide users with adequate information regarding default privacy settings, particularly related to data of "friends" and "friends of friends."

The ministry said it launched the investigation following media reports of the misuse of data by political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica in 2018.

Facebook has 10 days to appeal the decision.&nbsp;

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Brazil's Ministry of Justice fined social media giant Facebook 6.6 million-real ($1.64 million) for improperly sharing user data on Monday. According to the ministry's statement, the fine is the first-ever applied to Facebook in Brazil and is related to the misuse of data by Cambridge Analytica in 2018.

Brazil's Ministry of Justice fined social media giant Facebook 6.6 million-real ($1.64 million) for improperly sharing user data on Monday. According to the ministry's statement, the fine is the first-ever applied to Facebook in Brazil and is related to the misuse of data by Cambridge Analytica in 2018. Facebook, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, has been ordered to pay the fine within 30 days. The ministry's department of consumer protection said it had found that data from 443,000 Facebook users was made improperly available to developers of an App called 'thisisyourdigitallife.' The data was being shared for "questionable" purposes, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the world's largest social network failed to provide users with adequate information regarding default privacy settings, particularly related to data of "friends" and "friends of friends." The ministry said it launched the investigation following media reports of the misuse of data by political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica in 2018. Facebook has 10 days to appeal the decision.

Brazil fines Facebook $1.6 million for improper sharing of user data

A report reveals that a trove of user information belonging to more than 267 million Facebook users is left exposed online. #Facebook #Facebookleak #FB

Facebook faces another huge data leak affecting 267 million users

The government will wait for a response from British data mining firm Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken in the Facebook data leak case, a source said today.

Analytica has been accused of harvesting personal information of over millions of Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries.

US-based social media giant Facebook had said earlier in the day that 5.62 lakh people in India were “potentially affected” by global data leak, involving Analytica.

A senior government official confirmed that the IT ministry has received Facebook’s response to its notice.

The Indian government will wait for a response of Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken in Facebook data leak case, the source said.

Facebook has over 20 crore users in the country and the Indian government last month had shot-off notices to both Facebook and Analytica on the data breach issue.

Facebook had yesterday admitted that data on about 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

The IT ministry has received Facebook's response to its notice, the government will wait for a response from Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken, the source said.

The government will wait for a response from British data mining firm Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken in the Facebook data leak case, a source said today. Analytica has been accused of harvesting personal information of over millions of Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries. US-based social media giant Facebook had said earlier in the day that 5.62 lakh people in India were “potentially affected” by global data leak, involving Analytica. A senior government official confirmed that the IT ministry has received Facebook’s response to its notice. The Indian government will wait for a response of Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken in Facebook data leak case, the source said. Facebook has over 20 crore users in the country and the Indian government last month had shot-off notices to both Facebook and Analytica on the data breach issue. Facebook had yesterday admitted that data on about 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

‘Govt to wait for Cambridge Analytica’s reply before action in Facebook data leak case’

Facebook on Wednesday admitted that the company might have inappropriately shared information regarding Indian subscribers to tainted data firm Cambridge Analytica.

In a blog post, &nbsp;<a href="http://cmsuat.wionews.com/world/87-million-user-data-improperly-shared-with-cambridge-analytica-facebook-128399">Facebook said</a> that information about 562,455 subscribers in India — 0.6% of the complete count — may have been shared with the data firm that has worked with several Indian political parties for a long time. However, Facebook did not specify whether the company used that information for its clients.

Facebook’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer also said in that blog which ran under his byline on the company’s website, that the number of subscribers whose data was shared with the controversial political consultancy was much higher at 87 million than the 50 million it had conceded earlier.

These new revelations came ahead of a conference call with reporters in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he had made a “huge mistake” personally by not focusing on data privacy.

&nbsp;Facebook has deployed technology tools like artificial intelligence and thousands of people to work on security as the company's "major focus" this year is to protect the integrity of upcoming elections in several countries, including India, on its platform, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said.

Terming 2018 a "big year" for elections, Zuckerberg said Facebook was enhancing its security features to prevent trolls from spreading information.

"This is going to be a big year for elections ahead with the US midterms and elections in India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Hungary and others. This is going to be a major focus for us," he said.

Several Indian states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are scheduled to go for polls this year and the general elections are due in a little over a year from now. 
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These new revelations came ahead of a conference call with reporters in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he had made a “huge mistake” personally by not focusing on data privacy.

Facebook on Wednesday admitted that the company might have inappropriately shared information regarding Indian subscribers to tainted data firm Cambridge Analytica. In a blog post, Facebook said that information about 562,455 subscribers in India — 0.6% of the complete count — may have been shared with the data firm that has worked with several Indian political parties for a long time. However, Facebook did not specify whether the company used that information for its clients. Facebook’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer also said in that blog which ran under his byline on the company’s website, that the number of subscribers whose data was shared with the controversial political consultancy was much higher at 87 million than the 50 million it had conceded earlier. These new revelations came ahead of a conference call with reporters in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he had made a “huge mistake” personally by not focusing on data privacy. Facebook has deployed technology tools like artificial intelligence and thousands of people to work on security as the company's "major focus" this year is to protect the integrity of upcoming elections in several countries, including India, on its platform, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said. Terming 2018 a "big year" for elections, Zuckerberg said Facebook was enhancing its security features to prevent trolls from spreading information. "This is going to be a big year for elections ahead with the US midterms and elections in India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Hungary and others. This is going to be a major focus for us," he said. Several Indian states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are scheduled to go for polls this year and the general elections are due in a little over a year from now.

Facebook leak: Over 5.6 lakh Indian users' details may've been shared with Cambridge Analytica