Facebook has hired a former cyberscurity policy director from the Obama administration to be its first-ever director of cybersecurity, according to a new report.
Cyberscoop reports that Nathaniel Gleicher joined Facebook and will work on keeping the social media giant secure.
“We’re pleased that Nathaniel joined us recently to help support our security efforts,” a Facebook spokesperson told the news outlet.
Facebook’s decision to hire a cybersecurity director comes on the heels of the platform being used by Russian actors to spread misinformation and create confusion ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Facebook, along with fellow tech giants Google and Twitter, testified before Congress late last year about the extent to which Russia was able to influence the election using American social media and technology channels.
Russia used the platform to buy ads, use bots and run sponsored content that spread false information to users ahead of the election.
Specifically, Facebook said it estimated that 126 million users were exposed to content generated by a Russian government-linked “troll farm” in the lead up to the election. The social media company handed over thousands of ads to Congress that they determined were created as part of the Russian influence efforts.
Lawmakers also released metadata that shows Russian actors specifically targeted groups of Americans to show the content and were likely to like, share, and respond the content’s messages.
You can read more about Facebook’s new hire here.
