5.2m UK adult hook-up website users' details at risk following hack attack

The personal details of hundreds of millions of users of adult meet-up websites have been exposed following the hacking of AdultFriendFinder and related sites.
The security breach happened last month.The security breach happened last month.
The security breach happened last month.

The total of 412 million accounts includes 5.2 million UK email addresses, as well as associated information which could prove useful such as purchasing data.

The security breach occurred in October at the site’s parent company, California-based Friend Finder Networks. Other sites which may have ben affected include Cams.com, Penthouse.com, Stripshow.com and iCams.com.

The total includes information from 15 million accounts which had been deleted by users but which remained on the company’s servers and could stretch back as far as 20 years.

The latest leaking of personal data is a reminder of how vulnerable websites can be to attack, emphasised by the revelation that close to a million of the users whose data was compromised had used ‘123456’ as their password, with similar numerical combinations as well as ‘password’ and ‘qwerty’ also in the top 10.

ActionFraud - the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre - offered the following advice:

If you use the same password for AdultFriendFinder.com anywhere else on the internet, then change it immediately. Use three words which mean something to you but are random to others - this creates a password that is strong and more memorable.

The data taken in the breach includes email addresses and usernames, which could be used in future for phishing attempts. If you receive unsolicited emails never reply with personal details and don’t click on any links as you could end up downloading malware.

Be wary of anyone calling asking for personal information, bank details or passwords. If in doubt, just hang up.

For online safety advice visit www.getsafeonline.org and www.cyberaware.gov.uk.