Facebook Data Breach Case Study: InfoSec Awareness and Zuckerberg

This case study examines the Facebook data breach of 2018, focusing on the leakage of data from over 87 million users. It explores the importance of information security (InfoSec) awareness programs in preventing such incidents, referencing the views of Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook. The literature review highlights the vulnerabilities exploited by hackers, the lack of InfoSec awareness, and the need for improved security measures, including stronger encryption and clearer privacy policies. The study emphasizes the need for interactive sessions with users to enhance their understanding of security protocols. The conclusion underscores the vital role of InfoSec awareness in safeguarding sensitive user data and preventing future breaches, offering a comprehensive analysis of the incident's impact and the importance of robust security practices for social networking platforms.

Running head: FACEBOOK AND MARK ZUCKERBERG
Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg Case Study
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................2
Brief Idea of Facebook Data Breach Case Study...................................................................2
Importance of Information Security Awareness in the Case Study.......................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
InfoSec or information security can be stated as the major practice for the core
purpose of preventing from all types of unauthenticated as well as unauthorized access,
inspection, recording, destruction, disclosure, modification and disruption of the confidential
information and data (Peltier, 2013). This type of information can subsequently take the basic
form such as electronic and physical. The most significant focus over the data security is
properly balance the complete protection of confidentiality, integrity and availability triad.
This literature review provides a basic outline regarding the recent case study of the data
leakage within Facebook as well as the point of view of the CEO of Facebook, Mark
Zuckerberg about a program of InfoSec awareness.
Literature Review
Brief Idea of Facebook Data Breach Case Study
During the month of September in the year of 2018, the social networking web site of
Facebook was eventually accused to get into a specific network exposure when the
confidential data of over 87 million Facebook users were being leaked (Isaac & Frenkel,
2018). This particular data breach is significantly considered as one of the largest and
threatening breaches that has occurred in last 10 years and thus both the administrators as
well as the users of Facebook were the victims. Each and every respective attacker or hacker
was responsible for such act and has exploited the significant feature in Facebook’s codes.
They did this for ensuring to gain a basic access to the Facebook accounts of several users
and then intentionally taking the subsequent control of every feature of this particular social
networking web site.
The specified senior executives have testified several times for this data breaching
case quickly and few of the law makers have provided the recommendations of the country’s

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government requiring to step into this matter while this social networking web site of
Facebook cannot get the tighter control of their services (Isaac & Frenkel, 2018). Hence, the
CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg started a two day congressional inquisition by publicly
apologising for the scandal occurred due to such data leakage of Facebook.
Importance of Information Security Awareness in the Case Study
According to Tsohou et al. (2015), the significant program of information security
awareness is one of the major as well as evolving parts for information security by
subsequently focusing on the rising consciousness regarding each and every possible risk for
the rapidly evolving forms of confidential data, which is responsible for targeting the
behaviour of human beings. As such significant threats and risks have increased within the
respective technological world as well as the informational value is increasing majorly, the
hackers or the cyber attackers get an easy chance of increasing their capabilities and then
expanding to some broad intentions and acting over the various diversified motives. Due to
the processes as well as controls for information security are maturing properly, such attacks
can mature for circumventing the procedures and controls. As per Peltier (2016), the
information security awareness program can promptly detect all kinds of issues or breaches
regarding security of information in the respective organization and thus is often considered
as the basic and significant needs for the web site or organization.
The case study of the data leakage in Facebook has properly depicted the main
significance as well as importance of the program of information security awareness for each
and every social networking web site (Crossler et al., 2013). The sensitive data or information
for over 87 million Facebook users were eventually leaked within public and hence this
specific social networking website of Facebook is at threat. For the lack of such program of
information security awareness, each and every hacker or attacker could easily crack the code
of security and hence gain such sensitive and relevant information. Humaidi and

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Balakrishnan (2015) stated that, Mark Zuckerberg, the respective CEO of Facebook has given
the apology about this scandal of data leakage and has even admitted that the information
security awareness program was absent in the social networking web site. The information
security awareness program consists the basic awareness about the confidential data, social
media, phishing of electronic mails, users’ conduct, using of smart phones and also several
types of viruses and malware (McCormac et al., 2017). Moreover, various privacy policies of
this social networking site were extremely complex and thus those 87 million Facebook users
have substantially failed to understand the basic security regulations of the site. These privacy
policies were required to be proper, clear, more standardized and precise to enable a proper or
better comprehension and comparison of each and every privacy practice.
According to Webb et al. (2014), the social networking site of Facebook can also
create several interactive sessions with its users to discuss the matter of security and threats.
These users should be provided with the knowledge of making their accounts safe and
secured by InfoSec awareness program and hence avoiding any type of hacking. Mark
Zuckerberg must recruit the security authorities to perform a significant gap analysis for
finding out the program deficiencies in their website (Peltier, 2016). Moreover, the
encryption level of the website is also required to be made much stronger with certain
protocols so that the hackers could not find any loophole.
Conclusion
Therefore, from this above literature review, conclusion could be easily drawn that the
program of information security awareness would be termed as the most basic and vital needs
for the social networking web site. As this kind of web site is majorly responsible to store the
required sensitive data and information of the various users. However, in 2018, the
confidential data of over 87 million Facebook users were leaked within the public cloud by a
group of hackers and thus the significant security of the users’ data were under stake. This

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case study describes that information security awareness program is extremely important or
vital for any social networking web site. This above provided literature review plan has
provided a brief description regarding the importance of information security awareness
program by taking into consideration the case study of Facebook data leak case study with
Mark Zuckerberg’s view.

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References
Crossler, R. E., Johnston, A. C., Lowry, P. B., Hu, Q., Warkentin, M., & Baskerville, R.
(2013). Future directions for behavioral information security research. computers &
security, 32, 90-101.
Humaidi, N., & Balakrishnan, V. (2015). Leadership styles and information security
compliance behavior: The mediator effect of information security
awareness. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 5(4),
311.
Isaac, M., & Frenkel, S. (2018). Facebook Security Breach Exposes. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/technology/facebook-hack-data-breach.html
McCormac, A., Zwaans, T., Parsons, K., Calic, D., Butavicius, M., & Pattinson, M. (2017).
Individual differences and information security awareness. Computers in Human
Behavior, 69, 151-156.
Peltier, T. R. (2013). Information security fundamentals. CRC Press.
Peltier, T. R. (2016). Information Security Policies, Procedures, and Standards: guidelines
for effective information security management. Auerbach Publications.
Tsohou, A., Karyda, M., Kokolakis, S., & Kiountouzis, E. (2015). Managing the introduction
of information security awareness programmes in organisations. European Journal of
Information Systems, 24(1), 38-58.
Webb, J., Ahmad, A., Maynard, S. B., & Shanks, G. (2014). A situation awareness model for
information security risk management. Computers & security, 44, 1-15.