Instagram and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook. The social network is having a major crash, and user data has already leaked onto the Internet.
Whatsapp doesn't work, neither does Instagram.
Late in the evening of October 4, "Whatsapp" users began to complain about difficulties with sending messages and connecting to the server. Malfunctions with the messenger are observed in European countries, Asia, North and South America. Russian users also reported the failure. Other services of the company also do not work: Instagram and Facebook are "dead".
According to one version, the addresses of "Facebook", "Instagram" and "Votsap" could have been mistakenly removed from the general directory of Internet services during a major update. However, soon an announcement appeared on a hacker forum about the sale of a database dump of one and a half billion users of Mark Zuckerberg's services. At the same time, American journalists reported that Facebook employees could not physically get into the office because their electronic passes had stopped working. So far, it looks like a planned collapse of the world's largest Internet services, and if hackers were able to shut down such a large structure, user data has likely already gone to the attackers.
Media: Hackers put the data of 1.5 billion Facebook users up for sale after the global crash
Media: Hackers put data of 1.5 billion Facebook users up for sale after global crash
Check chats urgently
While Whatsapp is down and Telegram creator Pavel Durov is trolling competitors through his official channel in the messenger, ordinary users are trying to figure out what information could have gone to attackers. If the hacker nature of the crash is confirmed, we may be talking about a large amount of data - voice messages, files, links to cloud storage, photos.
According to Alexei Klukin, an IT analyst and network security specialist, it is no easy task to hack that level of protection and plan such a large-scale collapse.
I highly doubt that we are talking about obtaining user data here. If the hackers did this, then it is highly likely to be a demonstration of the capabilities that even such a network "went down" under attack, and that it can be repeated if necessary. The databases, which may then hit the Net, are the other side of the coin. So far it is difficult to say how they may be used.
Alexei Klukin
IT analyst, network security specialist
According to Klukin, users who send each other card details: numbers, security codes (CVV) and other payment information may be at risk. So the first thing to do after restoring "Votsap" functionality is to remember to whom and when you sent payment data.
Dangerous chat: What you should not write about in Telegram or WhatsApp and what could lead to problems
Dangerous chat: What not to write about in Telegram or WhatsApp and what can lead to problems
Whatsapp failure is a blow to business
In the social networks Twitter, "VKontakte" and other platforms, users are already writing that work chats with important corporate information began to disappear. These channels are often used by both small and large companies for operational communication. The most proactive and fastest have already switched to Telegram - Pavel Durov's messenger has also experienced serious load due to the increased outflow of Votsap users, but it has not stopped working. Chats, channels, sending messages, and uploading photos continue to work as usual. It's hard to say what will happen to corporate information from chats in Votsap. If it hasn't already gone to hackers, its confidentiality will be in question. A couple of years ago, a similar malfunction in the messenger opened access to private chats to outside users. The vulnerability was quickly shut down, explaining the problem as an internal glitch, but the residue, as they say, remained.
Zuckerberg lost $6.6 billion to Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram glitches
Zuckerberg lost $6.6 billion due to Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram glitches
Whatsapp security now at risk
The new Whatsapp failure, after which the messenger and all of Mark Zuckerberg's services "lay" for several hours, could hurt the encryption system. If the messenger algorithms have not yet been damaged by intruders, then for the first few days (and possibly weeks) Facebook programmers will be cleaning up the consequences - examining exploits (code fragments) and trying to understand who, how, and in what way tried to "lay" an entire sector of the most profitable IT-companies in the world. What's up to the average user? Message encryption will most likely not be as secure as it used to be in the near future, although the messenger has had security problems in the months before that.
Whatsapp phone number
If the penetration of hackers into the servers of the social networks Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram is confirmed, then the hackers may .not fall into the hands of the thick
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