Hackers Breached Reddit – Stole Source Code & Internal Data

Reddit recently revealed that it was subjected to a security breach. Unidentified cybercriminals were able to gain unauthorized access to the company’s internal documents, source code, as well as some of its business systems.

On the evening of February 5, 2023, Reddit discovered a sophisticated phishing attack with a landing page impersonating its intranet site aimed at its employees. 

The attack was carefully crafted to trick employees into revealing sensitive information, such as two-factor authentication tokens, and login credentials.

In response to the attack, Reddit’s security team immediately sprang into action to limit the damage and investigate the extent of the breach.

The threat actor was able to gain access to internal Reddit systems after one of the company’s employees fell victim to the phishing attack. In addition, the hack was reported by the affected employee himself, the company said.

As of yet, Reddit has confirmed that its primary production systems have not been breached. It has been disclosed that the recent security breach has resulted in the exposure of some limited information. 

This information includes contact details for some of the company’s contacts and employees, as well as limited information related to its advertisers. 

Reddit’s Response

Following a thorough initial investigation that lasted several days, and which involved teams from security, engineering, and data science, Reddit has determined that there is no evidence to suggest that any private user or company data has been accessed or exposed.

After being targeted by a phishing attack, one of Reddit’s employees quickly reported the incident to the security team. 

In response, the team took swift action, revoking the attacker’s access and launching an internal investigation to determine the extent of the breach. 

The quick response of the affected employee and the security team prevented the attacker from gaining further access to Reddit’s systems and minimized the potential damage.

Here’s what Reddit stated:-

“We’re continuing to investigate and monitor the situation closely and working with our employees to fortify our security skills. Our goal is to fully understand and prevent future incidents of this nature, and we will use this post to provide any additional updates as we learn and can share more.”

Recommendation

One of the most effective ways to enhance the security of your Reddit account is to set up two-factor authentication (2FA). This additional layer of security provides an extra layer of protection when accessing your account, helping to keep your information safe from potential threats.

For those looking to take their account security to the next level, updating your password on a regular basis is highly recommended. It is a good practice to change your password every few months to ensure that your account remains secure and to do so you can use a password manager. 

It is very important to ensure that your new password is unique and strong when you are setting up one. Using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols will help to make your password more difficult for attackers to crack.

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