A hacker stole the information of up to 69 million people from a popular page - a strange instruction from the service to the victims
Hackers stole 69 million pieces of information, In general, the right advice to change the password may not help in this situation.
NEOPETS warns of a possible data breach. According to the tweet, the passwords and email addresses used to log in may have been stolen. The situation is being investigated by experts and authorities, and users are promised more information later.
Neopets is a virtual pet site that was at the peak of its popularity in the first decade of the millennium but is still active. In addition, many people who have used the service in the past may still have an account there that has been forgotten over time.
Speaking to the Bleeping Computer news service, the hacker says he stole a total of more than 69 million users' personal information, including names, usernames, email addresses, postal codes, dates of birth, genders, countries, and original registration emails.
ACCORDING TO HIS OWN WORDS, THE HACKER is not blackmailing Jumpstart, which owns Neopets, but is selling the stolen data for four bitcoins. At the time of writing, it was 92,545 euros.
The hacker may still have access to the Neopets database. Therefore, the instructions given by the service for changing passwords may not help. As a result, even the new password can end up in the hands of a hacker.
However, the user must change his password in all other online services where he has used the same password as in Neopets. Using the same password in several places should be avoided just in case of such situations.
JUMPSTART has been in trouble due to data security before. In 2016, the company was fined in the US for the tracking technology used on the Neopets website and for sending user data to Facebook.
US law prohibits websites intended for children under the age of 13 from collecting information about users without parental consent.
It is not known how the hacker gained access to the database. However, Neopets promises to improve its protections.
