• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

3

Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

3

Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
TechFuture of Work

Facebook Builds Rating System for Its 400-Partner Security Network

Jeff John Roberts
By
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Editor, Finance and Crypto
Down Arrow Button Icon
Jeff John Roberts
By
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Editor, Finance and Crypto
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 19, 2016, 8:54 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Everyone on Facebook knows how to “like” a story. Now a group of cybersecurity geeks on a special social network run by the tech giant will get to do something similar.

Starting this summer, Facebook is rolling out a rating system for “ThreatExchange,” a platform where engineers meet to share information about bot-nets, spam, and other nasty stuff attacking their networks. The program, which launched in early 2015 with partners like Dropbox and Pinterest, has grown to over 400 participants, including new members like Netflix (NFLX) and United Airlines.

Last week, Facebook’s (FB) security team shared details of the review system with Fortune, and explained what ThreatExchange can and can’t do to shut down cyber threats.

“A Set of Five Responses”

Facebook started ThreatExchange as an alternative to the messy system of emails and spreadsheets that companies used, both internally and with each other, to share information about cyber attacks.

The API-based system serves as a centralized repository to which members can contribute information with the entire network, or with just one or a handful of other ThreatExchange members. The platform’s rapid growth is a good thing overall, but has also meant there can be a lot of noise on the system that risks drowning out important signals.

“The feedback was people saying we need a way to evaluate who is saying useful things about the data,” said Mark Hammell, who runs Facebook’s threat infrastructure team.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

In response, the company decided to introduce a ratings system that will let members of ThreatExchange provide feedback on incoming information. Ordinary Facebook users, however, may be disappointed to learn these don’t include the familiar “Like” button or the newer icons like “Wow” or “Sad.”

“It’s less a comment thread, and more a hard-coded set of five responses,” said Hammell.

The responses will let ThreatExchange members flag whether a piece of information is useful or outdated or if it requires more data. A Facebook spokesperson said the other two responses are under wraps for now since the system is still in early beta, and will only roll out to everyone on the network weeks or months from now.

As for the nature of threats that members on the network identify, they include new types of malware, bot-nets and suspicious URLs. Hammell says ThreatExchange members are a diverse group ranging from Fortune 500 security teams to a 16-year-old in Michigan.

It’s Not About a “Dashboard With Blinky Lights”

While security exchanges are useful because they let good guys pool information, they also have limits. For instance, companies with valuable information, especially security vendors, may have a commercial imperative to keep it to themselves rather than tell their competitors about it. Also, security breaches are a sensitive matter and many firms are reluctant to reveal they’ve been hit.

Facebook is realistic about this, and doesn’t pretend ThreatExchange will ferret out every security threat lurking on the web. Nor does it expect every company on the platform to share everything, and so it allows firms to distribute their information to as many or as few people on the network as they see fit.

“The previous efforts have failed because they tried to be a giant circle of trust,” said Hammell. “It leads to conflict of interest between vendors and others.”

ThreatExchange does, however, take care about who is allowed on the platform, screening to ensure a would-be member is not an adversary looking to glean intelligence.

As for what Facebook itself gets out of ThreatExchange, the benefit includes valuable data that helps it better protect its own network. For now, though, the company says it has no plans to parlay this information into a means of selling security products.

Instead, Facebook is content to let companies like Carbon Black and RiskIQ draw on the ThreatExchange API to build interfaces for the security software already in place in offices around the country. For instance, a company might build an integration that takes data from ThreatExchange and plugs it into an integration for Splunk (SPLK).

Despite this growing collaboration in the security industry, however, Hammell says he doesn’t see a day when threats will be defeated and companies can rest easy. That’s significant coming from Facebook, whose security reputation is better than most.

“Anyone who tells you it’s under control and don’t worry is crazy. The threats change and the actors get more sophisticated,” he said. “The job is not about building a dashboard with blinky lights to warn about threats. Instead, it’s to build products well enough that attackers can’t get in.”

About the Author
Jeff John Roberts
By Jeff John RobertsEditor, Finance and Crypto
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jeff John Roberts is the Finance and Crypto editor at Fortune, overseeing coverage of the blockchain and how technology is changing finance.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Chad Hurley and Steven Chen wearing suits
SuccessWealth
YouTube’s founders split over $650 million when they sold to Google in 2006—had they held out, they could have taken a slice of $550 billion
By Preston ForeJuly 3, 2026
2 hours ago
ds
CommentarySoftware
I argued with the father of open source for 2 years. Now the AI fight is the same — only bigger
By David SiegelJuly 3, 2026
5 hours ago
ashok
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
The greatest startup in history: What we can learn from America’s founders at today’s AI frontier
By Ashok N. SrivastavaJuly 3, 2026
5 hours ago
2
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America’s secret weapon isn’t just innovation — It’s the freedom to fail
By Keith KrachJuly 3, 2026
7 hours ago
A $75 billion valuation, 75 million global customers and on its way to America—Revolut is London’s disruptor extraordinaire
EuropeLetter from London
A $75 billion valuation, 75 million global customers and on its way to America—Revolut is London’s disruptor extraordinaire
By Kamal AhmedJuly 3, 2026
7 hours ago
Man in a black hat and jacket
InvestingSpace Exploration
Elon Musk can’t sell a single SpaceX share for a year—and then all the locks crack open at once
By Amanda GerutJuly 3, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
23 hours ago
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
AI
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
10 hours ago
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Economy
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
1 day ago
Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts and beer to create the 'highest-quality beef in the world' on his $300 million estate in Hawaii
Success
Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts and beer to create the 'highest-quality beef in the world' on his $300 million estate in Hawaii
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
1 day ago
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 2, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 2, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.