Yes, your Facebook account can be hacked, and it doesn't matter how strong a password you have or how many extra security measures you have taken.
It's no joke!
Hackers with the skills to exploit the SS7 network can easily hack into your Facebook account. All they need is your phone number.
The vulnerabilities in the SS7 portion of the global telecommunications network not only let hackers and spy agencies listen in on your private phone calls and view your text messages, but also let them hack into the social media accounts you've given your phone number to.
SS7 is a telephony signaling protocol used by more than 800 telecommunications operators around the world to exchange information with each other, cross-carrier billing, allow roaming, and other features.
However, one problem with the SS7 network is that it trusts text messages sent, regardless of their origin. So, malicious hackers can trick SS7 by diverting text messages, as well as calls, to their own devices.
All they need is their target's phone number and some details of the mobile device to begin the silent intrusion.
Researchers from Positive Technologies, who recently showed how they can hack WhatsApp and Telegram accounts, recently demonstrated a Facebook hack using similar tricks, Forbes reported.
Here's how you can hack a Facebook account:
The hacker will first have to click on the “Forgot account?” link found on the Facebook homepage. Now when the hacker is asked for either an email or a mobile number, they will have to provide the real phone number.
The attacker then redirects the message sent by Facebook to their own mobile or PC, which contains a one-time code, and then logs in normally.
This only affects users who have chosen to recover or change their password via mobile and of course it does not apply only to Facebook!
