--- title: "Facebook Stored “Hundreds of Millions” of Passwords as Plain Text" description: "Facebook admits to storing \"hundreds of millions\" of account passwords in plain text." date: "2019-03-21" modified: "2019-03-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-millions-password-plain-text" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "data security" - "facebook" - "passwords" - "the digest" --- # Facebook Stored “Hundreds of Millions” of Passwords as Plain Text ![Facebook admits to storing "hundreds of millions" of account passwords in plain text.]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Plain Text Passwords In a damning privacy revelation, Facebook admitted to storing "hundreds of millions" of account passwords in plain text — a flabbergasting breach with good data security practices. "As part of a routine security review in January, we found that some user passwords were being stored in a readable format within our internal data storage systems," reads [a post]() published today, written by Pedro Canahuati, Facebook's VP Engineering, Security and Privacy. ## "No Evidence" of Abuse 200,000 employees could see the passwords, [*The Verge* reports](). According to cybersecurity reporter Brian Krebs*,* who first identified the flaw, [between 200 and 600 million]() Facebook users are affected. That news is especially grim for users who recycled old passwords across different sites. But the exact fallout of the mistake remains unclear. "To be clear, these passwords were never visible to anyone outside of Facebook and we have found no evidence to date that anyone internally abused or improperly accessed them," Canahuati wrote. ## Industry Standard The industry standard practice for storing sensitive information such as passwords or user account names is called "hashing," meaning passwords are stored locally as a random set of characters, making it harder for hackers to make use of stolen credentials. Facebook advised its users in the post to change their passwords for both Facebook and Instagram. "Pick strong and complex passwords for all your accounts," Canahuati wrote. "Password manager apps can help." **READ MORE:** [Facebook stored hundreds of millions of passwords in plain text]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on Facebook:** [Facebook Had a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()