Happy New Year! Hackers Leak 4.6 Million Snapchat Accounts
While everyone was drunk last night, hackers published the user names and private phone numbers ("private") of 4.6 million Snapchat profiles. This comes directly after the startup, valued for its privacy, ignored the exact security hole that made this possible.
The Verge reports that the hackers, for now remaining anonymous, have published the info dump with the last two digits of the phone numbers obscured, but are fielding requests for the unedited data from certain interested parties, including "private investigators" and researchers. They released a brief statement along with their loot:
This information was acquired through the recently patched Snapchat exploit and is being shared with the public to raise awareness on the issue. The company was too reluctant at patching the exploit until they knew it was too late and companies that we trust with our information should be more careful when dealing with it.
Luckily, it appears that the hackers didn't nab the entire Snapchat database—you can check if you've been affected using this website. I'm not in the leak, but some of my Snapchat friends are—even incomplete, 4.6 million is a lot of people.
And speaking of large figures, we'll have to wait for New Year's Eve hangovers to drift away and see if this case of apparent gross negligence by Snapchat affects its massive multi-billion dollar valuation.