Kickstarter Was Hacked

[Gahars]

Kickstarters and stoppers alike, take note:

On Wednesday night, law enforcement officials contacted Kickstarter and alerted us that hackers had sought and gained unauthorized access to some of our customers' data. Upon learning this, we immediately closed the security breach and began strengthening security measures throughout the Kickstarter system.

No credit card data of any kind was accessed by hackers. There is no evidence of unauthorized activity of any kind on all but two Kickstarter user accounts.

While no credit card data was accessed, some information about our customers was. Accessed information included usernames, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and encrypted passwords. Actual passwords were not revealed, however it is possible for a malicious person with enough computing power to guess and crack an encrypted password, particularly a weak or obvious one.

As a precaution, we strongly recommend that you create a new password for your Kickstarter account, and other accounts where you use this password.

Kickstarter Blog

For more info, read the Knicked-starter Kickstarter Blog.

 

[The Catboy]

Kinda glad I never got into the whole Kickstarter thing and never made an account or anything

 

[Veho]

Kinda glad I never got into the whole Kickstarter thing and never made an account or anything

Just like how I was so glad I didn't have a PS3 back when PlayStation Network got hacked.

 

[w!!]

Ever shop at:

Target
Neiman Marcus
TJ Maxx
Barnes and Noble
... the list goes on.

Things like this happen all the time. That's why you should do a few simple things to protect yourself... Use only credit cards, not debit or bank accounts on sites. At least here in the US, credit card companies give you immunity to the fraud charges. I like to use only one card specifically for online purchases that I have set up for alerts when charges are made. Also, use a unique username, email address and password for these sites different from your bank and other financial sites.

You shouldn't shy away from using new sites/technologies/buying stuff because of stuff like this... but you should use caution and understand the risks to better protect yourself for when this stuff happens.

 

[WiiUBricker]

Possibly hacked by someone who didn't meet their goal.

 

[gbatempfan1]

While they can target a single users password and try to recover it, especially if it was weak, because they used salt on the old passwords and bcrypt on the new, if they used those properly, at this time it would be computationally ineffective to recover everybody's password. So for the most part the list of passwords should still remain encrypted for a relatively long time, weeks, months, perhaps even years.

 

[Mario92]

Credit card information is mostly handled by Amazon and no need for password when using Facebook Connect. So I'll just leave this very old maymay here:

 

[calmwaters]

I don't have a kickstarter account. But my thoughts go out to those who lost their personal information. And do public service announcements count as news?

 

[Gahars]

And do public service announcements count as news?

If the reporting of the news also serves as a public service announcement, why wouldn't it?

 

[calmwaters]

If the reporting of the news also serves as a public service announcement, why wouldn't it?

I thought about what I'd written and came up with this: public service announcements are news, but with a twist. They're kind of like advertisements: information is revealed in the hopes that you'll take action based on the contents of the ad. Or maybe I'm just being silly. I think that's more likely.

 

[FireGrey]

Someone should start a kickstarter to finish the job.

 

[WhiteMaze]

Ever shop at:

Target
Neiman Marcus
TJ Maxx
Barnes and Noble
... the list goes on.

Things like this happen all the time. That's why you should do a few simple things to protect yourself... Use only credit cards, not debit or bank accounts on sites. At least here in the US, credit card companies give you immunity to the fraud charges. I like to use only one card specifically for online purchases that I have set up for alerts when charges are made. Also, use a unique username, email address and password for these sites different from your bank and other financial sites.

You shouldn't shy away from using new sites/technologies/buying stuff because of stuff like this... but you should use caution and understand the risks to better protect yourself for when this stuff happens.

Seriously?

Virtual Debit Cards people.

Each time you want to purchase something, you create one and use it. Lets say you want to buy something for 20$. The limit for the card is 20$.

So even if a hacker gets access to your Virtual Card information, the limit has been reached. The card is now useless because all it had was 20$ to spend.

I have never used a Credit Card online and never will. Many people got jacked, I'm not going to become one of them.

Because what Credit Card companies say that they do, in case of fraud, is one thing, what they are actually willing to do when such fraud happens is another.

They usually do what's in those small little almost invisible letters at the end of your contract that you couldn't even read because you didn't bring your glasses.

I don't trust it.

 

[ProtoKun7]

Just like how I was so glad I didn't have a PS3 back when PlayStation Network got hacked.

That's a good point, actually. I didn't have a PSN account at all until I bought a Vita, long after the hack. I didn't get a PS3 until later still.

 

[dragonblood9999]

Seriously?

Virtual Debit Cards people.

you mean MBNET right? i used to use that when i lived in Portugal. i don't think that Canada has something like that

 

[WhiteMaze]

you mean MBNET right? i used to use that when i lived in Portugal. i don't think that Canada has something like that

Yeh, MBNET.

I mean, there's bound to be other services like that, no?

You should check with your Bank to see if they offer anything of the sort.

Safest thing ever.

 

[dragonblood9999]

Yeh, MBNET.

I mean, there's bound to be other services like that, no?

You should check with your Bank to see if they offer anything of the sort.

Safest thing ever.

the only thing my bank(BMO) has is mastercard credit cards or a travelers mastercard, that i can load money on to it when i need

 

[WhiteMaze]

the only thing my bank(BMO) has is mastercard credit cards or a travelers mastercard, that i can load money on to it when i need

That sucks :/

Well, be careful then. And use Paypal for safer purchases.

 

[w!!]

Because what Credit Card companies say that they do, in case of fraud, is one thing, what they are actually willing to do when such fraud happens is another.

They usually do what's in those small little almost invisible letters at the end of your contract that you couldn't even read because you didn't bring your glasses.

I don't trust it.

I did preface that with how they deal with it in the US....

I know they have different policies in European Countries and other areas... I've had fairly good experiences with the credit card companies... they are too afraid to lose you as a customer than worry about a charge most of the time.

And yes, debit or virtual debit cards are a better idea, but more hassle and sometimes more cost. Paypal is a good alternative too, but imagine if that account got compromised. I've been burned by them before with ebay purchases where I reported it within the 45 day window and they claim that I waited to long even though I sent them their own confirmation email.

 

[WhiteMaze]

I did preface that with how they deal with it in the US....

I know they have different policies in European Countries and other areas... I've had fairly good experiences with the credit card companies... they are too afraid to lose you as a customer than worry about a charge most of the time.

And yes, debit or virtual debit cards are a better idea, but more hassle and sometimes more cost. Paypal is a good alternative too, but imagine if that account got compromised. I've been burned by them before with ebay purchases where I reported it within the 45 day window and they claim that I waited to long even though I sent them their own confirmation email.

Well it all comes down to preferences.