Facebook Tells 50,000 Users They Have Been Targets of Cyber Mercenaries

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Following a months-long investigation by Meta, Facebook’s parent company, Facebook is notifying nearly 50,000 users in more than 100 countries they may have been targets of cyber-mercenaries who engage in surveillance-for-hire.

Facebook said it is taking enforcement actions against seven surveillance companies based in four countries, removing about 1,500 fake accounts, blocking malicious web addresses, and sending cease-and-desist letters to the companies. The investigators concluded that the companies used Meta’s Facebook and Instagram subsidiaries for surveillance activities, mainly to research and groom targets for later infections by spyware. Among the targets of the spy-for-hire companies were politicians, human rights workers, journalists, dissidents, and family members of opposition figures. (Craig Timberg / Washington Post)

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