Meta warns 1 million users of stolen log-in information

Tech reporter Allie Garfinkle details Meta's cybersecurity concerns as it warns users of one million stolen passwords and usernames.

Video transcript

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Shifting gears now to Meta, which has begun notifying Facebook users that may have had their accounts compromised by third party apps. Yahoo Finance's Allie Garfinkle has the latest on this. Allie, what do we need to know?

ALLIE GARFINKLE: Great to see you, Rachelle. So Meta has been notifying 1 million Facebook users that they've been affected by these malware apps that, on the face of it, look pretty harmless. They're often photo editors, lifestyle trackers, that sort of thing. But what Meta has found is that they're available both on the Apple App Store and on the Google App Store. So they have put this forth to their users, and they are now bringing it to both Apple and Google.

So this is kind of coming at a time for lots of controversy for app stores, right? You have a lot of controversy surrounding how App Store fees are structured. You have a lot of controversy surrounding Apple's privacy changes that came last year, which, by the way, really hit Meta's bottom line hard. My take on this sort of, Rachelle, is that after years of being known for their privacy failures, Meta is trying to show that they're turning a corner here, being proactive protecting users' data.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: And of course, Meta, when it switched its name, all about the Metaverse. But their flagship Metaverse app, Horizon World, has been called bug-riddled by employees, according to a report from The Verge, so much so, in fact, that employees aren't actually using it. How big of a problem could this be for Meta?

ALLIE GARFINKLE: Well, it's a really big problem, right, Rachelle? It's their big bet. It's what they changed the name of the company, what they really hung out their shingle on. And, you know, it's interesting. So many experts I talked to are bullish on the Metaverse, but have questions about Meta's ability to lead in uncharted territory.

I got a statement from Meta. I was in communication with them this morning. And what they said to me was, we're confident that the Metaverse is the future of computing and should be built around people. This is a multiyear journey, and we're going to keep making what we build better. So they're pushing forth. There's no question that they keep going here. I think the question is, if they can push through and become true leaders in this space, if they can get through these bugs, if they can get to the place where Horizon World's is indispensable in the Metaverse.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: And as they mentioned there, a multi-year plan. So we'll all be keeping an eye on that. Allie Garfinkle, always good to see you. Have a great weekend.