FBHive is a new site started by a couple of young bohemians who are self-proclaimed “social networking addicts.” The site will feature upcoming news, events, and the spectrum of opinions about FaceBook and networking in general. Launched to a large audience and with many visitors, the site has found out and revealed a programming bug that allows unregistered users and other who would normally be blocked to access these seemingly secure profiles.

For those who are not into the whole networking social Internet scene, here is FaceBook Security 101: When setting up a profile, the site warns you not to disclose too much personal information because it will be on the Internet for everyone to see. Most FaceBook veterans will tell you that they only put in totally fictitious information so that no one can find any private information out about them, but most people ignore this step, and want to put their whole lives out for everyone to see, so they head for the privacy options. By making a profile private, only users whom the owner deems as friends (which are either invited or approved by the subject of the page) can view their page. All other interlopers and non-friends are blocked from the site with a friendly reminder: “This is a private page, only the users friends are able to view it.”

It seems there is a glitch in the system, but this is to be expected and it seems that the FaceBook tech team would be on this before anyone had even used it. One might even think this site was just saying this to spark interest and draw in a crowd. There’s always at least one skeptic who will require proof, and so the proof came. One man demanded that the owners of this site exploit the glitch and hack into his private profile and tell him some information they could only find from his profile. He got his wish; they told him birthplace, fiancé’s name, date of birth, and even his political views!

There was a similar bug in FaceBook’s system where people could access private information via the search bar such as birthdays and such, and when reported to FaceBook several times in 2007, no response was given. It would look bad on their part to deliver no response at all, so they sent back a concise “We’re working on it.”

The FBHive has sent FaceBook a message saying they will release detailed instructions on how to violate their privacy security if action is not taken quickly on this. They have given an ultimatum; one day for a response or everyone and their grandmother is learning how to hack. FaceBook responded to the threat quickly, ensuring they had closed it and fixed it, but this is a warning. Always be careful to not give out too much personal information on these blogging sites and just rely on their security systems to protect you because there’s always a loophole, and always a hacker looking to use it.

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