178 Million Users Data Stolen, Facebook Prepares Lawsuit Against Ukrainian Developer

The social media giant Facebook is to sue a developer from Ukraine. The programmer is said to have stolen more than 178 million users’ data from Facebook and then sold them on the black market. The data was accessed from January 2018 to September 2019.

As The Record writes, the Ukrainian developer Alexander Solonchenko is said to have stolen the data of 178 million Facebook users. To do this, he used the function of importing contacts built into the messenger. With an automated tool that simulates Android devices, he was able to get numerous phone numbers. The import feature was also only abolished at the end of the year before last, so that Alexander Solonchenko had until September 2019 to save several million user data.

On December 1, 2020, the developer then offered the collected information in a forum for stolen data. However, Alexander Solonchenko used the same username that he used to log in to other services. Facebook then managed to identify the attacker via job portals and email accounts.

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The Developer should pay for damages

This enabled the social network to file a lawsuit against the programmer. Facebook asks the court to forbid him from continuing to sell the tapped records. In addition, the group would like to receive compensation from the Ukrainian. The amount involved has not yet been stated.

In addition, Facebook wants to block the developer on all platforms that belong to the Internet giant. In the future, Alexander Solonchenko would no longer have the opportunity to access services such as Facebook and Instagram. A federal court in California will soon have to decide whether the application will be accepted.