Facebook announces that it is taking users’ security to the next level by notifying them if it believes the user is being targeted by a state-sponsored attacker. The company has always monitored malicious activities on Facebook and it has decided to give this kind of attack particular regard.

However, it will not reveal the reason behind any decisions taken to give the notification: “To protect the integrity of our methods and processes, we often won’t be able to explain how we attribute certain attacks to suspected attackers. That said, we plan to use this warning only in situations where the evidence strongly supports our conclusion.”

The notification will look something like this;

Alex Stamos, Chief Security Officer at Facebook, adds that the warning is not related to any compromise on Facebook’s platform or system. The user may have malware on their devices from which they access Facebook and this malware may be used by the attacker to get users’ login details. Therefore, Facebook recommends two-factor approvals for your login so that it’ll be harder to tamper with your online presence.

Alex, of course, did not elaborate anymore on other factors that Facebook may consider before delivering the warning. For example, the attacks will most probably sanctioned by the government and if it is initiated by the user’s own country, will that change things? Will Facebook consider ‘national security’ as a deciding factor?

More importantly, while high profile accounts will face bigger risks of such attacks, will Facebook also warn other average users of the usual routine snooping done by a government on its own people? We’re sounding paranoid now, but it is not unheard of. Nevertheless, it is a welcomed change in this cyber age.