A recent Facebook update will now alert users should their accounts be attacked by someone working for a government, any government around the world. Facebook stated in their Security page that it will notify you if your Facebook account “has been targeted or compromised by an attacker suspected of working on behalf of a nation-state.” It will also suggest that you activate “Login Approvals” which sends a security code whenever you try to login in from another device.
Facebook will not specify exactly how it is able to determine that a government is attacking your account. They have however explained that it would only send you the warning notification “only in situations where the evidence strongly supports our conclusion.” Alex Stamos (Chief Security Officer for Facebook) stated that “While we have always taken steps to secure accounts that we believe to have been compromised, we decided to show this additional warning if we have a strong suspicion that an attack could be government-sponsored. We do this because these types of attacks tend to be more advanced and dangerous than others, and we strongly encourage affected people to take the actions necessary to secure all of their online accounts.”
In a time where the US has undergone several NSA controversies and many countries around the world struggle with freedom rights, this development from Facebook definitively states their view on personal and online freedom.
Source: TechRadar
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