A hacking group known as ShinyHunters has put up a huge cache of stolen user details online, according to TechRadar. The hackers were able to steal the data of over 73 million users from various websites, including online dating app Zoosk and printing service Chatbooks, which is now up for sale for approximately $18,000 on underground marketplaces. The group was also behind the recent attack on the Indian online learning platform Unacademy, stealing a database of over 22 million users that was listed online for $2,000. Chatbooks has advised its users to update their login credentials for the service.
Individuals at risk should be contacted by the companies that have been compromised, and it is vital that they do not ignore these warning emails. It is extremely important that those affected change their passwords and take a look at their password hygiene.
This latest underground sale acts as a plain and simple reminder that connected devices can be compromised if users don\’t abide by basic precautions. Those affected need to be certain that they haven\’t used the same password for these accounts as for other online accounts. Hackers have very simple tools to re-use passwords that are stolen in separate data breaches, which is known as \’password stuffing\’. It would also be a good idea for all account owners to check that they have implemented two factor authentication on each of their accounts, as this makes the password stuffing attack much harder.