Facebook targeted by hackers

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Facebook said that they have been "targeted in a sophisticated attack” last month, but that it found no evidence any user data was compromised.

In a blog post, Facebook said that the malware came from an infected website of a mobile developer and that “we remediated all infected machines, informed law enforcement, and began a significant investigation that continues to this day.”

The attackers used a previously unseen exploit taking advantage of a flaw in Java software made by Oracle, which was alerted to the situation and released a patch the first of February, according to Facebook.

The hackers appeared to be targeting developers and technology firms based on the website they chose to booby-trap with malicious code.

“Facebook was not alone in this attack,” the Northern California-based company said.

“It is clear that others were attacked and infiltrated recently as well.” The US intelligence community has concluded that America is the target of a massive cyber-espionage campaign that is threatening its competitiveness, The Washington Post reported just days ago.

Citing unnamed officials, the newspaper said the conclusion is contained in the National Intelligence Estimate, a classified report that represents the consensus view of the US intelligence community.