Ukrainian quiz-makers accused of stealing Facebook users’ private data

Two Ukrainian men, AndreyGorbachovandGlebSluchevskyhave been sued by Facebook for reputedly using quiz apps to steal Facebook users’ private data. The lawsuit accuses Andrey and Gleb of hackinginto the accounts and introducing advertisements into their News Feeds.They lured users since 2017by engaging them in horoscopes or “character and popularity” testswhich in turn asked them to install malicious browser plugins.

Reportedly, the breach has affected around 63,000 Facebook users’ browsers. The malicious web apps including “Supertest” and “FQuiz” mostly targeted Ukrainian and Russian users. The apps offered personality quizzes like “Who is your doppelganger from the past?” (shown by pictures of Stalin and Lenin), “Who are you of modern vampires?”(shown by a Twilight poster) etc.

The web app exploited the login feature of Facebook, ensuring that it would collect only the information that is needed. However, users were then tricked by hackersto install web browser extensions that gave them access to users’ complete Facebook data.

Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the quiz-makers are accused of accessing users’ data without authorization.Facebook mentions that it suffered “irreparable reputational harm” from the breach. The company has always been active in addressing any such scams or malicious plugins.The company also filed a similar lawsuit, accusing four companies in China of selling fake Facebook accounts and unethical user engagement.