Facebook now tells you when state-sponsored hackers try to access your account

Facebook has a vision of connecting the world together and in doing so, it’s facilitating the spreading of ideas. Whether it’s about political ideas, social issues, or simply how to Whip and Nae-Nae, it’s all taking place on this giant social network. And it’s probably not surprising that there are a few people that just don’t want this to happen, and so they’re trying to infiltrate the network.

Last week, Facebook published a note to let its 1.49 billion monthly active users know that it was taking action to protect their privacy. Users will now receive a notification when the company detects that their account has been targeted or compromised by hackers that it believes is working on behalf of a “nation-state.” It’s likely that this notice won’t pop up frequently, and Facebook said that it’ll use it “only in situations where the evidence strongly supports our conclusions.”

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Facebook sought to also clarify that its platform or systems have not been compromised. The company noted that if your account is compromised, it’s likely a result of malware infecting your device, so simply changing your password may not be enough.

No specific “state-sponsored actors” have been listed in the post written by Facebook’s chief security officer Alex Stamos. What’s more, the company has not disclosed the specific methods and processes that are being used to attribute attacks to suspected attackers.

Over the past few years, the company has been making updates to ensure that users have the right permissions and security in place. In 2011, new login security features were released, including Login Approvals, which let users better understand which devices, browsers, and systems their accounts were logged into. Then in December 2012, revamped privacy settings were rolled out to give users better control over what could be seen on their profiles.