The attack gave hackers the ability to change privacy settings, steal data and spread the infection through the victim’s Facebook friends, Kaspersky Lab say.
An estimated 10,000 Facebook accounts have been infected in South America, Europe, Tunisia and Israel, with the majority of incidents occuring in Brazil. It is not thought to have reached the UK.
“Two aspects of this attack stand out,” said Ido Naor, Kaspersky Lab’s Senior Security Researcher. “Firstly, the delivery of the malware was extremely efficient, reaching thousands of users in only 48 hours.
“Secondly, the response from consumers and the media was almost as fast. Their reaction raised awareness of the campaign and drove prompt action and investigation by the providers concerned.”