Kickstarter hacked: Passwords, phone numbers, and phone numbers stolen

The breach has since been fixed and no credit card details were accessed, the crowdfunding site said

Tomas Jivanda
Sunday 16 February 2014 13:16 EST
Comments
Launched in 2009, over 100,000 projects have since been financed through the crowdfunding platform
Launched in 2009, over 100,000 projects have since been financed through the crowdfunding platform (Kickstarter)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has said that some of its customers' data was hacked earlier this week. The breach has since been repaired.

“No credit card data of any kind was accessed by hackers,” Kickstarter Chief Executive Officer Yancey Strickler said in a blog post on the website. “There is no evidence of unauthorized activity of any kind on all but two Kickstarter user accounts.”

The website does not store credit card data.

The information accessed by the hackers included usernames, email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and encrypted passwords, Kickstarter, which was informed of the breach by US law enforcement officials on Wednesday night, said.

While only passwords in their encrypted form were accessed, they could now be deciphered, Kickstarter added, recommending that users change their passwords for the site and any other accounts for which they use the same password.

The company said it had increased security in recent days and was working with law enforcement officials.

Recent data breaches at Target Corp and Neiman Marcus have sparked concern from US politicians and consumers on how to improve cybersecurity and over who should cover the cost of resulting consumer losses.

Kickstarter launched in 2009 as a platform for funding of creative projects, with contributors often rewarded with an edition of what they have contributed to, discounts and credits.

More than 100,000 projects have been funded since launch, with hundreds of millions of pounds pledged.

Additional reporting from Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in