Search and watch history data belonging to over 200 million Pornhub premium users has been stolen. The company has issued a warning, while hackers are reportedly trying to recover it.

A major cyber-attack has emerged regarding online privacy. Adult website Pornhub has acknowledged that the data of millions of its premium users may have been compromised. The incident stemmed from unauthorized access involving a third-party analytics company. While the company has stated that payments and passwords are secure, the potential for search and watch history to be stolen has raised serious concerns.

How the data theft case came to light

Pornhub has contacted over 200 million premium users to inform them that some of their data records may have been stolen. MailOnline reports that hackers have reportedly accessed search and watch histories and are attempting to extort money from the platform. The company has confirmed the "unauthorized access."

Question on third party Mixpanel

According to Pornhub, the incident is not related to its internal systems, but to a third-party data analytics service called Mixpanel. Mixpanel confirmed a cyber incident on November 27th, but said it had not found evidence that Pornhub's data was stolen during that time.

The name of ShinyHunters came to the fore

In this case, the name of a hacking group called ShinyHunters has come to light, which has been linked to major data leaks in the past. According to reports, the hackers have access to 94GB of data, which may include emails, locations, videos watched, and search keywords.

Is the financial information of users safe?

Pornhub clarified that this incident was limited to select premium users. According to the company, passwords, payment details, and financial information are completely secure. Premium users pay approximately £11 per month to access ad-free and HD content.

Growing cyber concerns

This incident comes at a time when warnings were recently issued about the leak of 1.3 billion passwords online. The website "Have I Been Pwned" described it as the largest data breach ever. Experts say users need to change their passwords and remain vigilant.

PC: India Daily