Hackers steal passwords, emails from hookup websites

Two gay hookup websites have been breached with sensitive and personal user data stolen and sold online, new reports have claimed.

The databases, which are now being sold on dark web forums, were taken from platforms called TruckerSucker, and CityJerks.

They contain enough personally identifiable information to engage in identity theft (opens in new tab), such as usernames and passwords, email addresses, profile pictures, sexual preferences, birth dates, postal addresses, IP addresses, and bios. The passwords are encrypted, but according to TechCrunch, the algorithm is “weak” and could be broken by a more persistent hacker.

The silent treatment

HaveIBeenPwned founder Troy Hunt, who was tipped off on the leak, described the incident as a “typical forum breach, albeit with super sensitive content.” 

However the content includes more than just identity data, as there are also messages users exchanged, including arranging meetings and describing their sexual preferences. 

In total, more than 80,000 people have been affected by this incident, the publication states. Roughly 8,000 TruckerSucker users were compromised, together with 77,000 people from CityJerks.

At the moment, the owners and maintainers of these two websites are silent on the matter.

The two websites share an almost identical visual design, which might mean they’re operated by the same company and could be using the same content management system (CMS), which might be why the attackers managed to breach just these two. Unfortunately, until the owners share any updates, it’s impossible to know exactly how they were compromised, if the threat actors discovered a zero-day, used any known malware, or any unique social engineering tactics.

If the passwords are as weak as it’s being claimed, a hacker might decrypt them and run them against other, more potent platforms, such as financial services. As consumers often use the same username/password combinations across a wide array of services, this breach might end up being a lot more destructive.

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Via: TechCrunch (opens in new tab)

Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.