IT security and control firm Sophos is warning Facebook users
who are members of geographic networks to check their privacy
settings after photos of Bono from U2 and a couple of bikini-clad
girls were made available to the entire New York network.
Last year Sophos called for Facebook to change
its default security options as joining a geographic network
automatically opens up the user's whole profile to every other
member of the network, no matter how stringent your previous
privacy settings.
According to reports, in this latest incident, one of the girls
involved, Andrea Feick, posted her private photos to the social
networking site. However, since she was also a member of the New
York network, more than one million people were then able to view
these pictures of the humanitarian campaigner.
"This could all be completely innocent on Bono's part, but it
raises the serious security issue about how everyone must ensure
their identity is properly protected online," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant at Sophos. "Facebook's privacy features are
more sophisticated than some competing social networking sites, but
the fact that Facebook changes these without asking when you join a
geographic network is a huge oversight. While in this instance the
result is potentially embarrassing for Bono, other members of the
site could easily find themselves the victim of identity
theft."
Facebook is made up of thousands of networks worldwide and users
are encouraged to join them in order to meet and make friends with
people in the area. Sophos advises all users to exercise caution
when joining these networks and to ensure they reset their security
settings to keep potential cybercriminals away from personal
information.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.