Recently, when the security breach case was reported with SnapShot – a photo messaging application, it decided to step up the security. The company said many changes were upcoming. However, it failed to fix the security exploit.
All the claims of providing secure service was laid bare when a group of security researchers exploited a weakness in Snapchat’s systems to split and post usernames and telephone numbers for 4.6 million Snapchat users.
Vulnerabilities in Snapchat Service exposed
The team of hackers behind the leak claimed that they took a white-hat approach to the situation. The objective of the hackers was to raise public awareness of the potential vulnerabilities in Snapchat’s security. The usernames and phone numbers associated with the names were dumped onto a downloadable CSV file and were made freely available on the website, Snapchat DB that now stands suspended.
Now, days later, the service has rolled out a more secure version of its application. The updated version would allow users to opt out of its “Find Friends” feature, which was apparently at the heart of the breach, and would stem future attempts to abuse its service.
Many users of the service felt the app developers and engineers should have prioritized security matters in the first place. The service is very popular with young people. Incidents like these make users wonder whether the company is capable of handling the spotlight it has been thrust into. With the New Year, we continue to enter in an increasingly mobile-centric world. Therefore, issues related to security breach are worrying even for the casual mobile consumers
Snachat is a photo messaging application (“app”) developed by Reggie Brown.
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