What happened in the Mashable data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In mid-2020, Mashable experienced a data breach that became public in November of the same year. The incident involved unauthorized access to a Mashable database related to a feature allowing readers to use their social media account sign-in for easier content sharing. As a result, users' personal information was leaked. Mashable took precautionary measures by disabling all affected accounts and warning users about potential phishing campaigns.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 1.4 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included auth tokens, email addresses, genders, geographic locations, IP addresses, names, partial dates of birth, and social media profiles.
How was Mashable hacked?
A hacker known for targeting websites and apps exploited a feature on Mashable that allowed readers to use their social media account sign-in for easier content sharing. This led to unauthorized access to a Mashable database, which was subsequently posted on the internet. The breach exposed users' personal information, including names, locations, email addresses, genders, IP addresses, and links to social media profiles. In response, Mashable disabled all affected accounts and warned users about potential phishing campaigns.
Mashable's solution
In response to the data breach, Mashable took immediate action by disabling all affected accounts as a precautionary measure. While the company did not provide specific details about enhanced security protocols or collaboration with cybersecurity experts, they assured users that no password data was believed to have been accessed and that they do not store any financial information. Mashable also warned users about potential phishing campaigns and advised them not to share personal details with untrusted sources. The company is working hard to investigate the issue and prevent future incidents.
How do I know if I was affected?
Mashable has not explicitly stated whether they reached out to affected users. If you believe you may have been affected by the breach and have not received a notification, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for all affected accounts. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on all affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For more specific help and instructions related to Mashable's data breach, please contact Mashable's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Mashable data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Mashable data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In mid-2020, Mashable experienced a data breach that became public in November of the same year. The incident involved unauthorized access to a Mashable database related to a feature allowing readers to use their social media account sign-in for easier content sharing. As a result, users' personal information was leaked. Mashable took precautionary measures by disabling all affected accounts and warning users about potential phishing campaigns.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 1.4 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included auth tokens, email addresses, genders, geographic locations, IP addresses, names, partial dates of birth, and social media profiles.
How was Mashable hacked?
A hacker known for targeting websites and apps exploited a feature on Mashable that allowed readers to use their social media account sign-in for easier content sharing. This led to unauthorized access to a Mashable database, which was subsequently posted on the internet. The breach exposed users' personal information, including names, locations, email addresses, genders, IP addresses, and links to social media profiles. In response, Mashable disabled all affected accounts and warned users about potential phishing campaigns.
Mashable's solution
In response to the data breach, Mashable took immediate action by disabling all affected accounts as a precautionary measure. While the company did not provide specific details about enhanced security protocols or collaboration with cybersecurity experts, they assured users that no password data was believed to have been accessed and that they do not store any financial information. Mashable also warned users about potential phishing campaigns and advised them not to share personal details with untrusted sources. The company is working hard to investigate the issue and prevent future incidents.
How do I know if I was affected?
Mashable has not explicitly stated whether they reached out to affected users. If you believe you may have been affected by the breach and have not received a notification, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for all affected accounts. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on all affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For more specific help and instructions related to Mashable's data breach, please contact Mashable's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Mashable data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Mashable data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 13, 2024
In mid-2020, Mashable experienced a data breach that became public in November of the same year. The incident involved unauthorized access to a Mashable database related to a feature allowing readers to use their social media account sign-in for easier content sharing. As a result, users' personal information was leaked. Mashable took precautionary measures by disabling all affected accounts and warning users about potential phishing campaigns.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 1.4 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included auth tokens, email addresses, genders, geographic locations, IP addresses, names, partial dates of birth, and social media profiles.
How was Mashable hacked?
A hacker known for targeting websites and apps exploited a feature on Mashable that allowed readers to use their social media account sign-in for easier content sharing. This led to unauthorized access to a Mashable database, which was subsequently posted on the internet. The breach exposed users' personal information, including names, locations, email addresses, genders, IP addresses, and links to social media profiles. In response, Mashable disabled all affected accounts and warned users about potential phishing campaigns.
Mashable's solution
In response to the data breach, Mashable took immediate action by disabling all affected accounts as a precautionary measure. While the company did not provide specific details about enhanced security protocols or collaboration with cybersecurity experts, they assured users that no password data was believed to have been accessed and that they do not store any financial information. Mashable also warned users about potential phishing campaigns and advised them not to share personal details with untrusted sources. The company is working hard to investigate the issue and prevent future incidents.
How do I know if I was affected?
Mashable has not explicitly stated whether they reached out to affected users. If you believe you may have been affected by the breach and have not received a notification, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for all affected accounts. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on all affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
For more specific help and instructions related to Mashable's data breach, please contact Mashable's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Mashable data breach, check out the following news articles:
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