Were your details leaked in the Snapchat hack? - Telegraph.co.uk

The hackers obtained the information by exploiting a vulnerability in Snapchat's Find Friends interface, which allows users to upload their address book contacts to help find friends who are also using the service.

The vulnerability had been identified and reported to Snapchat days earlier by Australian firm Gibson Security, which denies that it was behind the recent exposure of users' details. Snapchat responded to the issue on December 27, claiming that it had safeguards in place to protect users.

"Theoretically, if someone were able to upload a huge set of phone numbers, like every number in an area code, or every possible number in the US, they could create a database of the results and match usernames to phone numbers that way," it said in a statement.

"Over the past year we've implemented various safeguards to make it more difficult to do. We recently added additional counter-measures and continue to make improvements to combat spam and abuse."

The hackers criticised Snapchat for being "too reluctant at patching the exploit until they knew it was too late".

Following the data breach on SnapchatDB.info, the company's chief executive Evan Spiegel confirmed in a tweet that Snapchat is working with the police to manage the situation.

Now Gibson Security has developed a website called GS Lookup where people can enter their username and be told if their data was included in the security leak. The site claims that most of the affected users were in the US, so UK users are unlikely to have been hacked.

The site also offers advice to anyone who had their data leaked: "If your data has been leaked, don't freak out! There are a few things you can do if you've been affected.

"First and foremost, you can delete your Snapchat account here - sadly, this won't remove your phone number from the already circulating leaked database.

"If you feel that you'd rather unscrupulous entities not potentially have your phone number, you're free to contact your phone TelCo, and request that they give you a new number. If you detail the breach, they'll almost certainly give you a new one.

"Lastly, ensure that your security settings are up to scratch on your social media profiles. Be careful about what data you give away to sites when you sign up - if you don't think a service requires your phone number, don't give it to them."

via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEPY-poice_qjZNLM33CuhyFQ8Lcw&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet-security/10547145/Were-your-details-leaked-in-the-Snapchat-hack.html

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