Users with passwords on the Gawker family of websites should get themselves some new user data. And quick. Sunday's hack has released about 1.3 million user-profiles into the ether, according to Financial Post.
The hacked sites include Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Gawker, Jezebel, io9, Jalopnik, Kotaku, Deadspin and Fleshbot.
And since many users use the same password for many online accounts (you know who you are), sites like Twitter are also being affected/spammed.
The head of Twitter security is advising that users change their information immediately.
Gnosis is reportedly responsible for the hack. They're affiliated with 4Chan, a larger, nebulous and scary group that hacks and hacks well. The 500MB file that has all that juicy user information has been floated to the cloud across various file-sharing websites.
Gawker founder Nick Denton was particularly targeted -- his accounts for dozens of sites laid bare (pictured). One site reports that Denton and Gawker were targeted for their "arrogance." (Mediaite.com)
“We went after Gawker because of their outright arrogance. It took us a few hours to find a way to dump all their source code and a bit longer to find a way into their database.
We found an interesting quote in their Campfire logs:
Hamilton N.: Nick Denton Says Bring It On 4Chan, Right to My Home Address (After
The Jump)
Ryan T.: We Are Not Scared of 4chan Here at 210 Elizabeth St NY NY 10012”
So if you're following someone and an Acai Berry promo pops up, don't RT so much as TT that Tweet (tsk tsk).
Meanwhile, you can look here to find more details and tips on fixing the problem that Nick Denton created for you.
