Facebook found out that dozens of apps were stealing user’s data. A million accounts might be in danger as Meta steps out to take measures.
Meta’s Facebook is under constant attack by bots and hackers these days. A couple of weeks ago, the social media giant discovered several fake accounts spreading Russian and Chinese propaganda. They were respectively Russian and Chinese hackers pretending to be American citizens or legit Western news outlets.
Now, Facebook has discovered a swarm of malwares from dozens of apps. These apps were disguised as services of all kinds, from finance to games, from photos to flashlights. According to Facebook, the majority of the malwares were "photo apps that pretend to turn yourself into a cartoon".
After downloading such apps, they would ask for access through Facebook for identification and then proceed to steal the victim’s data. This way, the malware would gain full access to the victim’s account.
Facebook claims that no less than a million accounts could be targeted, and calls for users to change their password just in case. It’s unclear how Meta found out exactly which accounts had been hit, but assures that every victim will receive a notification of alert and a warning to immediately change their password.
What are the incriminated apps
Macworld has published a comprehensive list of the apps charged with the malware that stole over a million Facebook accounts. These apps were easily downloadable from both Google Play Store and Apple Store.
Here is the list of the parasitic apps:
- Business ADS Manager
- Ads Analytics
- FB Adverts Optimization
- FB Analytic
- FB Adverts Community
- Adverts Ai Optimize
- Very Business Manager
- FB Business Support
- Fb Ads
- Meta Optimizer
- Business Manager Pages
- Adverts Manager
- Meta Adverts Manager
- Ad Optimization Meta
- FB Pages Manager
- Business Ads
- Meta Business
- Business Suite Manager
- FB Ads Cost
- Adverts Bussiness Suite
- Business Ads Clock
- Ads & Pages
- Business Suite
- Business & Ads
- Business Manager Overview
- Business Suite Ads
- Page Suite Manager
- Business Meta Support
- Pages Manager Suite
- Business Meta Pages
- Business Suite Ads
- Ads Business Knowledge
- Page Suite Managers
- Pages Managers Suite
- Ads Business Advance
- Pages Manager Suite
- Business Suite Optimize
- Business Manager Suite
- Business Suite Managers
- Ads Business Manager
- Ads Business Suite
- Business Manager Pages
- Business Adverts Manager
Needless to say, if you have any of these apps downloaded on your phone they must be uninstalled immediately. Right now, Google Play and Apple Store have already dismissed them and removed them from the catalog.
Even if you don’t have any of these apps installed, Facebook reminds us that it is good practice to change password every once in a while, in order to better protect your account.
