• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Facebook Hack Compromised 30 Million People, Exposing Phone Numbers, Emails

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 12, 2018, 3:01 PM ET

Facebook’s recent hack affected 30 million people, fewer than the company originally believed, but compromised sensitive information like people’s phone numbers and email addresses.

In a call with reporters on Friday, Facebook vice president of product management Guy Rosen detailed the type of personal information attackers may have obtained in what was likely the biggest data breach in the social networking giant’s history. When Facebook first detailed the hack in late September, executives believed that about 50 million people were compromised, but after a few more weeks of investigating, the company trimmed the number by 30 million.

Hackers could have taken information like names and contact details like phone numbers and email addresses from 15 million Facebook users, Rosen said.

For another 14 million people affected by the hack, Facebook believes that attackers obtained that same information—as well as additional details like gender, relationship status, religion, birthdates, the last 10 places they checked into, their 15 most recent searches, and the type of device they use to access Facebook. Hackers could have obtained this information if people had the data listed on their Facebook profiles, said the company.

Facebook does not believe that hackers obtained any information from the other one million people compromised by the attack, which started on Sept. 14 and which Facebook said it was able to stop on Sept. 27.

Rosen said that other Facebook services like Instagram, Oculus, WhatsApp, or Workplace were not impacted via the attack, nor were third-party apps that allow people use their Facebook accounts to log in. In response to hack, the company built coding tools for third-party developers that can help them identify whether their users may have been impacted by the attack, Rosen said.

Although Facebook notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the attack, the bureau “asked us not to share any additional details that can compromise their investigation,” Rosen said.

Rosen would not say which specific countries were impacted by the hack or which entities Facebook suspects were behind it. However, Rosen said that it’s unlikely that the attackers were politically motivated.

“We have no reason to believe that this specific attack was related to the midterms,” Rosen said of the upcoming U.S. elections.

On Thursday, Facebook said it removed 559 pages and 251 accounts that it believed were intentionally misleading and spamming people with “sensational political content.” The purge was part of the company’s ongoing efforts to safeguard its service from facilitating the spread of misinformation in prelude to the midterm elections, similar to how Russian entities shared propaganda on the social network prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Rosen also said Facebook is cooperating with other authorities including the Irish Data Protection Commission on the hack. The commission, which is the European Union’s lead regulator for privacy matters, said in early October it would investigate the data breach to determine if Facebook violated the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, privacy laws.

Investigation commenced into Facebook data breach. @DPCIreland statement beneath. #dataprotection#GDPR#eudatappic.twitter.com/7eHKUigTq5

— Data Protection Commission Ireland (@DPCIreland) October 3, 2018

To determine if a user’s Facebook account was compromised by the hack, Facebook debuted a support page that tells people whether they were impacted and what kind of data may be leaked.

“We are sorry this happened,” Rosen said. “We are fully committed to this work and we’ll do all we can to earn people’s trust.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

AIBrainstorm AI
Young people are ‘growing up fluent in AI’ and that’s helping them stand apart from their older peers, says Gen Z founder Kiara Nirghin
By Angelica AngDecember 10, 2025
58 minutes ago
RetailGrocery
Instacart may be jacking up your grocery prices using AI, study shows—a practice called ‘smart rounding’
By Dave Lozo and Morning BrewDecember 10, 2025
1 hour ago
C-SuiteLeadership Next
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire worked his way up from selling baseball cards as a kid to having one of the most influential IPOs of the year
By Fortune EditorsDecember 10, 2025
1 hour ago
Luigi
CybersecurityCrime
Pluck eyebrows. Avoid surveillance cameras: Luigi Mangione’s to-do list as he tried to avoid arrest revealed in court
By Michael R. Sisak and The Associated PressDecember 10, 2025
2 hours ago
Four men pose for photo
CryptoCryptocurrency
Exclusive: Surf, an AI platform just for crypto, raises $15 million
By Carlos GarciaDecember 10, 2025
3 hours ago
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
Inside tractor maker CNH’s push to bring more artificial intelligence to the farm
By John KellDecember 10, 2025
6 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
‘Fodder for a recession’: Top economist Mark Zandi warns about so many Americans ‘already living on the financial edge’ in a K-shaped economy 
By Eva RoytburgDecember 9, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Exclusive: U.S. businesses are getting throttled by the drop in tourism from Canada: 'I can count the number of Canadian visitors on one hand'
By Dave SmithDecember 10, 2025
6 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Banking
Jamie Dimon taps Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell, and Ford CEO Jim Farley to advise JPMorgan's $1.5 trillion national security initiative
By Nino PaoliDecember 9, 2025
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Uncategorized
Transforming customer support through intelligent AI operations
By Lauren ChomiukNovember 26, 2025
14 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
When David Ellison was 13, his billionaire father Larry bought him a plane. He competed in air shows before leaving it to become a Hollywood executive
By Dave SmithDecember 9, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The 'forever layoffs' era hits a recession trigger as corporates sack 1.1 million workers through November
By Nick Lichtenberg and Eva RoytburgDecember 9, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.