Forcepoint has responded to this story as they closely tracked the activity around the world.
“First, I think it’s great that Facebook appears to have reacted so quickly, as it’s a sign of the growing maturity around breach response that we’re starting to see as GDPR comes into effect. Understanding if there was a pattern to the impacted accounts versus just random selection is the difference between someone trying to hack the system for fun or a coordinated nation-state attack that compromises specific users to ultimately gain access to sensitive data, said Richard Ford, Chief Scientist at Forcepoint:
This breach illustrates a fundamental truth of the new digital economy: when I share my personal data with a company I am putting my trust in your ability to protect that data adequately. Users need to continually evaluate the type of data they share and the potential impact a breach of that data could cause, to become an active participant in protecting their own online identities. On the other side, companies need to avail themselves of proactive technologies such as behavioral analysis to hold up their end of the bargain.”