Privacy

As internet usage grows, so does the number of devastating data breaches that expose sensitive personal information. The online dating industry is no stranger to hacks hoping to exploit the extensive amount of personal data users share in their profiles, with services like FriendFinder Networks, Ashley Madison, Mate1 and Plenty of Fish falling victim to high profile attacks.

The latest company to join that list is Momo, one of China’s most popular dating apps. Data from 30 million users of the app is reportedly for sale on the Chinese dark web for just CNY 200 (approximately $30 USD).

In a post published on Sina Weibo on December 3, user @lxghost1989 shared a series screenshots entitled “database of 30 million Momo users” with a comment saying, “Momo’s database is quite cheap.” The data for sale includes phone numbers and passwords, and was supposedly obtained on July 17, 2015 via a method known as credential stuffing. This technique uses stolen account credentials - typically username and password pairs - to fraudulently gain access to other accounts that use the same login credentials. Individuals who use identical usernames and passwords across multiple accounts are highly vulnerable to this kind of attack.

As our lives become increasingly inseparable from the internet, concerns about privacy and data security intensify. Numerous companies have fallen short of user expectations in recent years, from the widely publicized Ashley Madison hack in 2015 to the seemingly endless controversies surrounding Facebook in 2018.

Artist and researcher Joana Moll teamed up with Berlin-based NGO Tactical Tech to shed light on data collection in the digital age. Their recent project, titled The Dating Brokers: An autopsy of online love, exposed the shady world of data brokers who sell information from online dating profiles. In May 2017, Moll and Tactical Tech purchased one million profiles from USDate, a company that sells user data to dating services looking to artificially augment their user base, for just $153.

“Purchasing this data exposed a vast network of companies that are capitalising on this information without the conscious consent of the users, whom ultimately are the ones being exploited,” explains the project’s website. “This project attempts to make parts of that network, and how it works, visible to everyone.”

Tinder users can breathe easier this week. Following the Facebook hack that compromised 50 million user accounts, Tinder has announced there is "no evidence” to suggest its own accounts have been breached as a result.

On Friday, September 28, news of the hack broke. An unknown attacker, or attackers, exploited a weakness in the social network’s systems to take over millions of accounts, gaining access to their profiles, photos, friend lists and, possibly, private messages. More than 90 million users were logged out of their accounts by Facebook as a precaution, including the accounts of company CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. It is one of the most significant cyber attacks in Facebook’s history.

"We do not yet know whether these accounts were misused but we are continuing to look into this and will update when we learn more," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post published on Friday.

Facebook Dating recently launched in Colombia, months after the company announced the new service at its developer conference in May. There’s been a lot of speculation, but now the first users are getting a taste of how the service will work.

According to Mashable, Facebook Dating is completely separate from your traditional Facebook profile, so you can feel free to search for potential dates without your activity showing up on your main Facebook page. Users can opt-in from the main menu where you find groups, Marketplace, and events. Then you can create a profile by adding photos and information, like where you went to school.

One of the main differences of Facebook’s service (as pointed out by Business Insider), is that Facebook is not matching people within their social media circle like other apps, so there’s no concern you’ll be matched directly with your online friends, which was an initial concern among users. Instead, Facebook Dating is connecting users according to interests and activities. Based on these attributes, Facebook by default will include friends-of-friends as well as strangers unless you only want to see people with no mutual connections.

Facebook has officially entered the dating app game, launching its new feature Facebook Dating exclusively for users in Colombia. Since the announcement of the new service in May at the company’s annual developers conference, the online dating industry has been anxious for how Facebook might upend the market.

Facebook chose Colombia because online dating is a “pervasive behavior” there according to Nathan Sharp, product manager for Facebook Dating. The country has a population of 48.6 million, giving Facebook the opportunity to see how people use it and how it compares to other dating apps. There are about 200 million single Facebook users globally, according to Sharp, a huge population to reach.

The service is currently available only through the social media giant’s mobile app, and users have to opt in to the service to use it. Also, Facebook Dating is separate from the regular Facebook service, so a user’s dating activity will not be visible to friends on social media. Facebook intends to compete directly with dating apps, but the company’s focus is on connecting people to form relationships, moving away from superficial swiping that’s popular on apps like Tinder.

Tinder swiping sessions are more secure than ever and there’s an unlikely hero to thank: 69-year-old U.S. Senator Rob Wyden.

Wyden made news earlier this year when he released a letter demanding that Tinder resolve security issues exposed by a report from Checkmarx, a Tel Aviv-based security firm. Months later, Tinder has responded with good news for both singles and the senator, revealing recent changes to the app’s handling of images and swipe data that make it harder for sensitive information to fall into criminal hands.

Checkmarx noted two “disturbing vulnerabilities” in its original report, dated January 23, 2018: