New Facebook privacy controls breached, personal and restricted photos viewed

Facebook Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., which recently upgraded website privacy controls, found a breach in security early this week, reports The Associated Press. The AP verified the loophole after receiving a tip from a Byron Ng, a computer technician based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Ng began looking for security weaknesses after Facebook unveiled more ways for members to restrict access to their personal profiles. Ng was able to view pictures posted by Facebook members, even if they were for a restricted audience only. A Facebook spokeswoman said the company would look into the problem and as of yesterday, Facebook appeared to have closed the security hole, says the article.

The security issue brings to light the reality the potential dangers of sharing private photos and information online. Before the fix, Ng's computer-coding trick enabled him to find private pictures of Paris Hilton and of her brother Nicholas with friends and photos of many other people who hadn't granted access to Ng. Using Ng's template, an AP reporter was able to look up random people on Facebook and see the most recent pictures posted on their personal profiles -- even if the photos were supposed to be invisible to strangers, says the article.