Science and TechData Privacy and Cybersecurity

Actions

Hackers appear to be targeting Facebook more than other sites

Privacy experts found that searches related to an account being hacked were the highest for Facebook users.
The Facebook logo is seen on a cell phone
Posted at 12:00 PM, Mar 09, 2023

It may be time to update your Facebook password. 

Privacy experts with VPN Central looked at Google searches related to hacked accounts. They found that Facebook had the highest average monthly hacking-related searches.

Facebook accounts for nearly 68,000 hacking-related searches every month, the study says. 

Searches related to hacks on Instagram were the second-highest, according to the study, with about 36,000 searches per month.

The third website on the list is not a social media platform. Spotify, a music streaming service, averages about 26,000 hacking-related searches every month, according to VPN Central. 

A man stands in front of screens at a cybercrime center.

European police, FBI bust international cybercrime gang

Victims in the United States paid out at least $42.5 million to the gang between May 2019 and March 2021.

LEARN MORE

Twitter and Amazon rounded out the top five. 

There are things people can do to protect their accounts from being hacked. 

The Federal Trade Commission recommends that people use passwords that are at least 12 characters — with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. The agency also recommends using multi-factor authentication, which requires a password and something like a code that is sent to your phone to verify it's really you logging into the account.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

US infiltrates big ransomware gang: 'We hacked the hackers'

Officials said the targeted syndicate, known as Hive, is among the world's top five ransomware networks and has heavily targeted health care.

LEARN MORE