Facebook's Newest Security Feature

    Facebook knows everything about everyone, provided you clicked accept on the terms and conditions upon signing up. They quite possibly know more things about you than you know about yourself, in terms of your patters and interests. I’m not terribly concerned over what people might find on my Facebook profile, sure there are some embarrassing middle school photos, but nothing that  could get me into any real trouble. However, I appreciate the steps that the social networking giant takes to secure its users’ information. These features include multi step authentication and alerts when new your account is accessed from an unfamiliar location among others. 

    The newest feature is a new, very specific kind of alert. Facebook will already tell users when they believe that an unauthorized person is trying to access their account. This new alert is a more specific form of that alert. This one will let you know when Facebook believes an unauthorized, state sponsored, individual is trying to gain access to a user’s information. (I’m talking to you NSA; after all I know you’re reading this.) Facebook has not revealed how it identifies a state-sponsored attack, due to obvious security reasons. While I feel that most people will not have to deal with these concerns, I do believe that this is an important event in an age where internet privacy policies are in their most impressionable state.

Facebook is taking steps to secure it's users' data

    I believe that this was a good move by Mr. Zuckerberg because of the huge influence that Facebook has on other holders of large amounts of data. Facebook has proven that it believes in the security of its users and that they are willing to do everything in their power to protect the privacy of the people who use their service. Hopefully, other companies will follow in their footsteps to safeguard their data from government intruders.

While this does raise the debate of privacy vs. safety, I do not believe that Facebook is totally turning away from the safety of the public. I believe that they will cooperate with agencies such as the NSA if they need to, but this will prevent unnecessary snooping into the personal lives of people, which the NSA has been known to do.

     I know this is a long shot, but hopefully is users do start to get these alerts, they will be more inclined to educate themselves on internet security and potentially take action to get more laws passed to make it clear what agencies can and cannot do. That being said, that is a lot of “ifs” and I do not expect such a drastic outcome. My realistic prediction is that it makes the agents hacking into profiles think twice because they run the risk of being exposed.  

    So, good job Facebook! I hope that you set a positive example for all of the other sites that hoard data about people who use them! Way to fight the power!

Article from Techtimes.com