What happened in the Peloton data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 24, 2024
In May 2021, Peloton, a popular exercise equipment and subscription service company, experienced a data breach due to an API vulnerability. The incident exposed sensitive user data and highlighted the lack of proper authentication and authorization measures in place. Security researcher Jan Masters discovered the issue, which allowed unauthorized requests to be made to Peloton's back-end APIs. Although Peloton has since addressed the vulnerabilities, the event underscores the importance of securing APIs to protect user privacy and maintain trust in digital services.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 3 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included users' full names, email addresses, phone numbers, age, gender, workout statistics, and in some cases, even their Social Security numbers and other personal details.
How was Peloton hacked?
The Peloton data breach occurred due to critical flaws in the company's APIs, which allowed unauthorized requests to access sensitive user information. The vulnerabilities stemmed from a lack of proper authentication and authorization measures, enabling any user to view private data. Peloton has since addressed these issues, but the incident highlights the importance of securing APIs to protect user privacy.
Peloton's solution
In response to the data breach, Peloton took several measures to enhance the security of its platform and prevent future incidents. The company restricted access to its back-end APIs to Peloton members by implementing authentication on these API endpoints. However, proper authorization measures were still needed to prevent authenticated users from viewing other users' data. Peloton worked closely with security researcher Jan Masters, who discovered the vulnerability, to resolve the issue. The company also acknowledged the shortcomings in their vulnerability disclosure process and aimed to improve their approach and process for working with the external security community. This incident highlights the importance of securing APIs and implementing comprehensive security protocols to protect user privacy and prevent hacks.
How do I know if I was affected?
Peloton has not publicly disclosed whether they reached out to affected users. If you're a Peloton user and are concerned about your data, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check if your credentials were affected.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Password: Immediately update your password for the breached account. Make sure the new password is 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 the breached account. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity and report any unauthorized access or transactions to the respective service providers.
For more specific help and instructions related to Peloton's data breach, please contact Peloton Support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Peloton 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 Peloton data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 24, 2024
In May 2021, Peloton, a popular exercise equipment and subscription service company, experienced a data breach due to an API vulnerability. The incident exposed sensitive user data and highlighted the lack of proper authentication and authorization measures in place. Security researcher Jan Masters discovered the issue, which allowed unauthorized requests to be made to Peloton's back-end APIs. Although Peloton has since addressed the vulnerabilities, the event underscores the importance of securing APIs to protect user privacy and maintain trust in digital services.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 3 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included users' full names, email addresses, phone numbers, age, gender, workout statistics, and in some cases, even their Social Security numbers and other personal details.
How was Peloton hacked?
The Peloton data breach occurred due to critical flaws in the company's APIs, which allowed unauthorized requests to access sensitive user information. The vulnerabilities stemmed from a lack of proper authentication and authorization measures, enabling any user to view private data. Peloton has since addressed these issues, but the incident highlights the importance of securing APIs to protect user privacy.
Peloton's solution
In response to the data breach, Peloton took several measures to enhance the security of its platform and prevent future incidents. The company restricted access to its back-end APIs to Peloton members by implementing authentication on these API endpoints. However, proper authorization measures were still needed to prevent authenticated users from viewing other users' data. Peloton worked closely with security researcher Jan Masters, who discovered the vulnerability, to resolve the issue. The company also acknowledged the shortcomings in their vulnerability disclosure process and aimed to improve their approach and process for working with the external security community. This incident highlights the importance of securing APIs and implementing comprehensive security protocols to protect user privacy and prevent hacks.
How do I know if I was affected?
Peloton has not publicly disclosed whether they reached out to affected users. If you're a Peloton user and are concerned about your data, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check if your credentials were affected.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Password: Immediately update your password for the breached account. Make sure the new password is 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 the breached account. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity and report any unauthorized access or transactions to the respective service providers.
For more specific help and instructions related to Peloton's data breach, please contact Peloton Support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Peloton 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 Peloton data breach?
Twingate Team
•
May 24, 2024
In May 2021, Peloton, a popular exercise equipment and subscription service company, experienced a data breach due to an API vulnerability. The incident exposed sensitive user data and highlighted the lack of proper authentication and authorization measures in place. Security researcher Jan Masters discovered the issue, which allowed unauthorized requests to be made to Peloton's back-end APIs. Although Peloton has since addressed the vulnerabilities, the event underscores the importance of securing APIs to protect user privacy and maintain trust in digital services.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to approximately 3 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included users' full names, email addresses, phone numbers, age, gender, workout statistics, and in some cases, even their Social Security numbers and other personal details.
How was Peloton hacked?
The Peloton data breach occurred due to critical flaws in the company's APIs, which allowed unauthorized requests to access sensitive user information. The vulnerabilities stemmed from a lack of proper authentication and authorization measures, enabling any user to view private data. Peloton has since addressed these issues, but the incident highlights the importance of securing APIs to protect user privacy.
Peloton's solution
In response to the data breach, Peloton took several measures to enhance the security of its platform and prevent future incidents. The company restricted access to its back-end APIs to Peloton members by implementing authentication on these API endpoints. However, proper authorization measures were still needed to prevent authenticated users from viewing other users' data. Peloton worked closely with security researcher Jan Masters, who discovered the vulnerability, to resolve the issue. The company also acknowledged the shortcomings in their vulnerability disclosure process and aimed to improve their approach and process for working with the external security community. This incident highlights the importance of securing APIs and implementing comprehensive security protocols to protect user privacy and prevent hacks.
How do I know if I was affected?
Peloton has not publicly disclosed whether they reached out to affected users. If you're a Peloton user and are concerned about your data, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check if your credentials were affected.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Password: Immediately update your password for the breached account. Make sure the new password is 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 the breached account. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity and report any unauthorized access or transactions to the respective service providers.
For more specific help and instructions related to Peloton's data breach, please contact Peloton Support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Peloton data breach, check out the following news articles:
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