Tech

Dropbox Hacked: 68m Accounts Affected; Company Urges Users to Add Extra Layer of Security

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A few days ago, the cloud storage company Dropbox made an announcement - encouraging all users to change their account passwords. While the story is not a new one, it is the recently-revealed magnitude amount of data being stolen, that gets users worried.

Dropbox hacked: The threat happened in 2012, resulting Dropbox accounts breach without any amount being disclosed

Back in 2012 where the breach happened, the company announced that the hackers were obtaining credentials from the accounts and it affected the company's senior staff too. However, the cloud storage business did not reveal the level of this cyberbreach.

It is later reported that 68 millions accounts are being affected by the breach. Motherboard described the Dropbox hack as 'mega-breach' - saying that one hacker being interviewed claimed to own the huge database.

The breach was previously analyzed by Troy Hunt, a security expert from Australia, who saw the data. He claimed that it is a legit hack with the data breach containing Dropbox users' passwords. Obviously, 68 millions of accounts make a large amount indeed.

Patrick Heim, Head of Trust and Security at Dropbox said that there was no indication that these accounts have been 'improperly accessed'.

Dropbox suggests users who signed up before mid-2012 to change passwords

However, the company does encourage users to reset passwords - changing them with strong and unique one with two-step verification enabled. Dropbox said that the notification email they sent to users is part of the precautionary measure. Hence, all users should be alert to spam or phishing, Ars Technica reported.

The Dropbox accounts being hacked simply suggests a tighter security system necessary for both ends, the company and the user. Now that the basic steps have been made, hopefully it could also prevent any breach in the future.

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