You may enjoy using social media, but some online social sharing sites have been vulnerable to hackers. Now Facebook is letting users know when certain attacks are attempted.
Facebook’s new system will warn users about potential attacks launched by nation-states, according to PC World. The social media company already has procedures for securing accounts it believes are vulnerable, but the new alert will let users know about the kind of attack that the company suspects may be coming.
Under the new system, when Facebook suspects an account is vulnerable, the user will receive a “login approval” warning. The warning will advise the user that his or her account may have been targeted by “state-sponsored actors,” and will require the user to enter a one-time password to access the account.
Facebook is concerned that such attacks can gain users’ personal information, and/or make it easier for hackers to attack users’ online contacts. For example, hackers could tailor messages that appear to come from a Facebook friend, in order to distribute malware.
However, Facebook acknowledges that it cannot definitively determine when hacking attacks are from state-sponsored groups. Still, the company believes they can find many such attacks through the types of servers that hackers may use, or the kinds of malware they are attempting to install.