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Cyber Research: Meta-owned Apps Are Most Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

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According to a recent study on Google search patterns, meta-owned apps like Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram are the main targets of cybercriminals nowadays. Moreover, the study indicated that Facebook and Instagram store highly personal information of users as compared to any other social media application. 

Recent research by TechSheilder listed the ten most-used applications that have the most chance of being hacked by cybercriminals and what type of user data they store. These apps were from the entertainment, social, and communication categories.

In the research, it is said that the more chances of an application being hacked, the more it will be vulnerable to dangerous cyberattacks.

In this case, Facebook tops the list as Google received almost 550,000 “Facebook Hacked” searches in one month. For “Instagram Hacked”, Google received 246,000 searches; for “Whatsapp Hacked”, there were 135,000 searches. 

These searches clearly indicate that Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp accounts are being frequently hacked, and cyber criminals are currently eyeing these most-used meta-owned apps. 

According to the study, Facebook is the app that lacks more in terms of account security, and cybercriminals hack millions of profiles every year. 

After Meta-owned apps, the other applications on the list were Snapchat, Netflix, Twitch, Youtube, Telegram, and Messenger. However, Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp were in the top 5. 

Now, the moment of concern is that these meta-owned apps have the most personal data that users store; pictures, videos, email addresses, phone numbers, and sometimes house addresses. In rare cases, these apps also store credit card information for business and promotional accounts. Not only this, but private and sensitive conversations are at risk too. Cybercriminals getting access to this information is a threatening concern.

Moreover, the research also argued about these apps sharing personal information of users with third-party apps – “This poses a security risk as your data could be compromised by hackers via multiple access points,” states the research.

The study also claims that meta-owned social apps have the most personal information of users than any other applications. Also, telegram holds the least amount of personal information on the list. 

TechSheilder also states, “It’s unsurprising that Meta’s apps are the most likely to be hacked as compromising these platforms would give cybercriminals access to a vast wealth of valuable information.”

The most astonishing part of the study is that it found London to be the number one place where more and more meta-owned apps and accounts are most likely to be attacked by cybercriminals. In this capital city,  users did almost 4260 searches in a month regarding hacking issues. 

Following London, Mexico and Paris were in second and third places respectively. Mexico is famous for its criminal code currently, which is why the country is an easy target for cyber attacks. 

Now the question is, does Meta has any solution to reduce these potential cyberattacks and protect the information and privacy of their users? Until then, install a VPN, use two-factor authentication, and limit the information you provide to these apps.