Facebook investigating claim employee used job to stalk women online

A security engineer who is employed at Facebook has been accused of using their “privileged access” to personal data to stalk women online.

The allegation was made on Sunday night by Jackie Stokes, founder of the cybersecurity consulting firm, Spyglass Security. It is reportedly being investigated by Facebook.

“Although we can’t comment on any individual personnel matters, we are aware of the situation and investigating,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email to Motherboard.

Stokes hurled the accusation on Twitter, claiming it came from a source.

“I’ve been made aware that a security engineer currently employed at Facebook is likely using privileged access to stalk women online,” she tweeted. “I have Tinder logs. What should I do with this information?”

Stokes said she “confirmed” the engineer’s employment status at Facebook through “cross-reference of his Tinder profile pic, LinkedIn, and [Keybase] connections.”

“This did not happen to me,” she later tweeted, in reference to the alleged stalking.

“[But] it’s not just her issue,” Stokes said of the victim. “It’s everyone’s issue when someone uses: Possible privileged access to the biggest social media network of our time, and Privilege of working in infosec…to lord it over potential partners? Part of the debate we need.”

Senior officials at Facebook have reportedly reached out to Stokes and are said to be working with her on the investigation.

“We maintain strict technical controls and policies to restrict employee access to user data,” the company spokesperson told Motherboard. “Access is scoped by job function, and designated employees are only allowed to access the amount of information that’s necessary to carry out their job responsibilities, such as responding to bug reports, account support inquiries, or valid legal requests. We have a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, and improper behavior results in termination.”