Cyber security is a big problem in this day and age. It is not unusual to hear about web companies being hit with cyberattacks that end up compromising user information. Companies normally don’t work together to tackle such threats but Facebook wants them to do that which is why it has built an API-based platform called ThreatExchange that will solely be used by web companies to share security threat information.
Basically what participants will do is that they will share phishing attempts, malware and malicious links that they see spreading across their services. They will also be able to share information about attacks that they go through.
Initially Tumblr, Twitter, Yahoo, Pinterest, Dropbox and Bitly have decided to participate in ThreatExchange. They’ll share new information as it becomes available to aid other companies so that they can prepare themselves for a similar attack, or just make the relevant tweaks based on that information to ensure that their users continue to remain safe.
Facebook has used some of the features that we’re familiar with on the social network to improve ThreatExchange, the platform will be able to find connections between threats, and it will even allow participating companies to decide privacy settings for the information that they choose to share.