Dropbox admits the spam attack, devises new system to avoid the infringement again

Dropbox has admitted that it was under a spam attack due to security breach in the system. The company has contacted the users who had their accounts affected and offered services in case of any damage.

About two weeks ago, several users received spam emails on casinos and gambling and instinctive reaction suggested there was a security breach. And it indeed was as the company confirmed the invasion in clear words.

“Our investigation found that usernames and passwords recently stolen from other websites were used to sign in to a small number of Dropbox accounts. We’ve contacted these users and have helped them protect their accounts,” the company wrote in a blog post today. “A stolen password was also used to access an employee Dropbox account containing a project document with user email addresses. We believe this improper access is what led to the spam.”

The problem leaked out earlier this month when a number of the service’s users posted on its online forum that they are receiving the spam mail from Dropbox’s official address. By the time Dropbox could respond to the situation, the forum was already populated with 295 threads.

However, the company has devised a new system to ensure that the violation does not occur again. Following is the excerpt of the plan:

–  Two-factor authentication, a way to optionally require two proofs of identity (such as your password and a temporary code sent to your phone) when signing in. (Coming in a few weeks)

–  New automated mechanisms to help identify suspicious activity. We’ll continue to add more of these over time.

–  A new page that lets you examine all active logins to your account.

–  In some cases, we may require you to change your password. (For example, if it’s commonly used or hasn’t been changed in a long time)

Moreover, the company suggested the users to avoid using the same password on several accounts.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=30141

Posted by Usman Khalid on Aug 1 2012. Filed under Sci-Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.