Hacker to Live-Stream Attempt to Delete Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Page

An indie Taiwanese hacker has proclaimed he'll broadcast an attempt to wipe out Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook page this Sunday - live.

Self-professed bug bounty-hunter Chang Chi-yuan, who ferrets out software flaws in return for cash, says he'll live-stream an endeavour to delete the billionaire's account at 6pm local time from his own Facebook page. He didn't get into details or respond to an online query.

"Broadcasting the deletion of FB founder Zuck's account," the lanky youngster, who turns 24 this year based on past interviews, told his 26,000-plus followers on Facebook this week. "Scheduled to go live."

Cyber-enthusiasts from India to the US routinely expose loopholes in corporate websites and software, earning small financial rewards. It's unusual however for so-called white-hat hackers to do so in real time. Chang, a minor celebrity at home who's gone on talk shows to discuss his exploits, was reportedly sued by a local bus operator after infiltrating their systems and buying a ticket for just TWD 1 (3 cents). He's published a gamut of claims - none of which could be independently verified - including attacks on Apple and Tesla. And his Facebook account was listed among eight "special contributors" in Line Corp.'s 2016 bug-hunters' hall of fame.

Facebook Inc., which like many Silicon Valley giants runs a thriving bug-bounty program, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours. The social media company is under the gun on a host of issues from privacy to its handling of election interference and hate speech, and can ill-afford trouble with basic cybersecurity.

"I don't want to be a proper hacker, and I don't even want to be a hacker at all," Chang said in a recent post. "I'm just bored and try to dabble so that I can earn some money."

© Thomson Reuters 2018