According to Facebook, the new features were rolled out to honor Data Privacy Day tomorrow, which is marked by "governments, businesses and advocacy groups to raise awareness about the importance of staying in control of personal information." Talk about ironic timing.
On Tuesday, a strange message was posted to Zuckerberg's profile. It read: "Let the hacking begin: If facebook needs money, instead of going to the banks, why doesn’t Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way? Why not transform Facebook into a ‘social business’ the way Nobel Price winner Muhammad Yunus described it? http://bit.ly/fs6rT3 What do you think? #hackercup2011" The post has since been removed.
Zuckerberg's profile hacking follows a Facebook security incident a few months ago when Facebook users revolted in response to a report from the Wall Street Journal that discovered some of Facebook's popular applications—Farmville and others—had been transmitting identifying information to Internet tracking companies.
An onslaught of articles scrutinizing the incident flooded the Internet, and U.S. Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), co-chairmen of the House Bipartisan Privacy Caucus, sent a letter to Zuckerberg (who was already up to his ears in media scrutiny after the release of The Social Network movie).
The latest compromise once again calls into question Facebook's ability to protect users' information. If the founder and CEO of Facebook can't keep his own page safe, what does that mean for everyone else's data?
Whether it was perfect timing or a swift reaction to the breach, Facebook was quick to roll out two new security features—secure browsing and social authentication—though few users are aware of them.
1. HTTPS Browsing
In the past, Facebook used HTTPS—Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure—only when you entered your password. You might also notice this amped-up security feature, denoted by a small lock icon that appears in your address bar or a green address bar, if you've shopped or banked online. Facebook is now applying this to all browsing done on the site, and is strongly recommended if you use public computers or access points, such as at coffee shops, airports or libraries.
Social Authentication
If Facebook detects suspicious behavior on your account, such as a login from Florida at lunchtime, then another from Europe a few nights later, Facebook will now ask you to verify your identity to ensure your account hasn't been compromised (I bet Zuck would have liked this feature on Tuesday).
