Facebook Vulnerability Allows Hacker to Alter Conversations

Facebook Vulnerability Allows Hacker to Alter Conversations

An online security company, Check Point Software Technologies, found a security flaw in Facebook’s Messenger platform that allowed hackers to change messages in a Facebook chat after they had been sent.

It goes like this – someone could send you a link, any link that is not malicious in any way. A hacker then swoops in and replaces that chat message with a different link that could send you to a malware installation package, tricking you into infecting your system.

The vulnerability, explained in detail on Check Point’s blog, is exploited by finding a message’s unique “message_id” identifier then altering the message’s content and sending it back to Facebook which accepts the new content as genuine, without alerting the recipient of the change.

According the Check Point, the vulnerability was found earlier this month, and Facebook has been notified. The social media network moved quickly to eradicate the problem.

The Facebook Messenger vulnerability comes as founding father of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg’s credentials to sites like Pinterest and Twitter were leaked as a likely result of the LinkedIn password hack in revealed in May. Other sites like MySpace and Tumblr have been battling password leaks as well.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.