Meta reportedly fired employees for hijacking user accounts
Meta Platforms reportedly fired or disciplined more than two dozen employees and contractors who allegedly compromised and took control of Facebook user accounts, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing The Wall Street Journal.
Bribery was involved in some cases, the Journal reported, citing sources and documents.
The report said users who were locked out of their Facebook accounts often weren’t able to regain access through traditional means, such as reaching out to Facebook directly. So, some users resorted to seeking outside sources who have contacts within Meta who were willing to unlock accounts for them.
In some cases, according to documents viewed by the Journal, workers accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from hackers to compromise or access user accounts. The terminations or discipline came about as a result of an internal investigation, according to the Journal.
According to the report, some of the fired workers were employed as Allied Universal contractors providing security for Meta facilities who were given access to internal employee tools to assist company employees.
The tools, the Journal reported, were referred to as “Oops,” a shorthand for Online Operations, and were originally intended for internal and special case use. The system allowed employees to restore any individual user’s access to their rightful account, according to the report.