Facebook will tell you if the government is spying on YOU

FACEBOOK will now send you a notification if it suspects you have been targeted by a nation-state.

 

Facebook has launched a new type of notification which warns social network users if there account has been targeted by hackers working for a nation-state.

The new notification, which was announced earlier this week, is not an indication that Facebook itself has been hacked.

Instead it is triggered by malware on the users' computer or smartphone that is being used to try and access your Facebook account.

 

Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos announced the news on the hugely successful social network's blog.

"While we have always taken steps to secure accounts that we believe to have been compromised, we decided to show this additional warning if we have a strong suspicion that an attack could be government-sponsored," he wrote.

"We do this because these types of attacks tend to be more advanced and dangerous than others, and we strongly encourage affected people to take the actions necessary to secure all of their online accounts."

 

The new Facebook notification which signals a nation-state hack to your system

Facebook has said it cannot reveal how it attributes whether the attack is coming from a nation-state.

But it has confirmed it will only roll-out the new notification "where the evidence strongly supports our conclusion."

In a nutshell, if you see this Facebook notification you should take it very seriously.

 

Facebook has started to roll out its new anti-malware notification, the Chief Security Officer said

"We hope that these warnings will assist those people in need of protection," Mr Stamos adds.

"And we will continue to improve our ability to prevent and detect attacks of all kinds against people on Facebook."

Users who receive the warning should rebuild or replace any computer system which may be infected by the malware, Facebook recommends.

 

Sony Entertainment is believed to have been hacked by North Korea last year.

The nation-state shut down the firm's computer systems and leaked thousands of documents and troves of personal information from employees.

Talking about the hack,  Department of Justice John Carlin told Vanity Fair: "There’s no wall high enough to keep a determined nation state out of your computer systems."

The new Facebook notification is the latest in a string of updates to the Californian social network.