To all those who have updated their mobile number on Facebook for 2-factor authentication (2FA), here’s an update which needs your attention on an urgent note. Security researchers have found that the said mobile security feature is, in fact, offering a loophole for hackers to intercept a user’s profile, regardless of the security setting preferences they have opted for.
Yes, technically speaking, the feature is actually meant to increase security for a user’s profile from falling prey to hackers. But it has been observed that Facebook is allowing this feature to be exploited by hackers to search for a user with the linked phone number.
As most Facebook users are unaware of the situation, there is a strong chance that their private data might fall or might have already fallen into the hands of the hackers due to the 2FA.
Note 1- From the past two years, Facebook has been urging its users to use the 2FA feature to keep their accounts safe. And from May 2018 the company decided to allow its users to track down their peers using their phone number which has been updated for 2-factor authentication reasons.
Note 2- In the past one week, a number of users and technology websites have highlighted the issue on how the 2FA feature of Facebook can backfire on its users who tend to keep their personal life private. Many people have also started to take the help of Twitter and Reddit to vent their anger over the issue.
Note 3-In a recent update shared by Facebook on this note, the Mark Zuckerberg led company says that its search-by-mobile-number feature allows people to track down a friend or a family member on the world’s number one social media platform. But it is yet to react to the concerns related to the option of its 2FA mobile security being exploited by hackers.
