Oculus Meta hack leads to suspension of multiple Facebook accounts

Vietnamese hackers are seemingly causing havoc in Meta’s family of social media platforms by exploiting vulnerabilities in the Oculus system. Thousands of Facebook accounts have been falsely suspended.

According to members of the large Reddit community r/facebook, Facebook and Instagram users have for quite some time been facing a “dire” security threat because hackers are exploiting vulnerabilities in the Oculus Meta system. Meta bought Oculus, the company behind virtual reality headsets called Quest, in 2014.

To be more specific, hackers are creating Oculus Meta accounts and clandestinely linking them to unsuspecting victims’ social media accounts. This kind of activity is then registered as unauthorized access and leads to the suspension of thousands of accounts.

According to Dan Astin-Gregory, a content creator whose Facebook account was also suspended, IP records show that the hackers are operating from Vietnam.

What’s even worse, two-factor authentication allegedly fails to safeguard users from unauthorized Meta account linking, leaving accounts vulnerable to exploitation. Facebook and Meta’s help centers are not responding to calls for assistance.

“Victims urge Facebook and Meta to take immediate action to address this security vulnerability, safeguarding the integrity of users' accounts, and to restore accounts suspended due to the violations of the hackers,” a press release from the Reddit community pleads.

Previously, Meta required owners of the Quest virtual reality headsets to set them up using a Facebook account. This wasn’t exactly convenient because, for example, if your account was banned because of something that happened on Facebook, you would lose access to your Oculus Meta account.

That’s why Meta rolled out a new type of account called Meta Accounts in 2022, allowing Quest users to decouple their devices from their Facebook profiles.

As it’s now clear, multiple accounts are still linked. In other words, whatever happens on the Oculus account is bound to affect the safety of the Facebook or Instagram account.

“Users are sent in an endless loop, unable to appeal the suspension given that it is Oculus accounts created by 3rd parties that are creating the issue,” said Dan Astin-Gregory on his X account.