The reports came in that Gibson Security on Christmas Eve that its app contained a security flaw that could expose its users in the exact way that SnapchatDB managed to do. Days after the warning, Snapchat acknowledged the vulnerability in a blog, but downplayed the seriousness of the security hole.
Snapchat had updated on their blog that they have implemented security measures to prevent the abuse or hack, but it seems that the main vulnerability was still open which resulted in the breach.
Snapchat is widely popular among youngsters and adults alike and has a user base of 9% in US which comes close to 26 Million. The company had also been running good and had dropped a $3 billion buy out offer from facebook. The exact revenue of the company is still unclear but the hack has been a major blow to its popularity.
How To Check If hacked?
If you want to ensure that your details are not hacked, please visit : http://lookup.gibsonsec.org/ and the details will be shown on the site. Gibson Security has however removed the final two digits from each of the results respecting user privacy.
"Our motivation behind the release was to raise the public awareness around the issue, and also put public pressure on Snapchat to get this exploit fixed," SnapchatDB told the Verge. "Security matters as much as user experience does."
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-snapchat-hacked-46-million-20140102,0,5282960.story#ixzz2pGijJ42c
If you are hacked, there is very little that you can do. Apart from registering a new name and also requesting the mobile carrier to issue a new phone number as well. Considering the fact that the vulnerability is still not fixed, the concern is still high among people who use snapchat.
Also as a general rule of thumb, never provide phone number for signups if you feel that it is not required. Security is something which is compromised by your carelessness (mostly). Good luck!
Update -4th Jan 2013
Snapchat has now released the update to fix this flaw and it is now reported that the find friends feature on the app was what the hackers had used to penalize 4.6 million users. Although the security update doesn't do any good for the accounts that are already hacked, and most of the users are now busy unlinking their phone numbers from critical databases like bank accounts and other social apps.
Source : LA times, Washington Post, DNA IMAGE : Techienews
- Unknown Updated at: Friday, January 03, 2014
