Hackers from the 4Chan forum are back, this time armed with a vast library of nude photos exchanged on messaging app Snapchat.
It hasn't been long since the iCloud photo hack which saw hundreds of nude celebrity photos leaked online, but the hackers are already prepping their next attack.
Users of the same 4Chan message board are threatening to release a database of 20,000 nude photos that were sent through messaging service Snapchat.
The hackers say the library of explicit photos will be released on October 12, although according to reports a link to the images has already hit the web – but has since been removed.
Snapchat however says its servers were not hacked, and claims the hackers have targeted users who use third-party app Snapsave – which saves images and videos before they disappear.
The San Francisco-based firm strictly prohibits the use of third-party apps to store snaps, and is basically placing blame on the users who it says have been “victimised” for their actions.
A statement from the company read: "We can confirm that Snapchat's servers were never breached and were not the source of these leaks. Snapchatters were victimised by their use of third-party apps to send and receive Snaps, a practice that we expressly prohibit in our Terms of Use precisely because they compromise our users' security. We vigilantly monitor the App Store and Google Play for illegal third-party apps and have succeeded in getting many of these removed."
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While unauthorised third-party apps are the source of the hack, security experts say the real problem is with Snapchat itself.
Apparently it would take only a few hours for a developer to create an app that interacts with Snapchat's API and saves everything that comes through it, unbeknownst to the people snapping away.
This isn't the first time Snapchat has faced security problems either.
Back in January 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers leaked onlinedue to a flaw in the messaging app.
Via: BBC
Nathan George is a freelance journalist who has contributed to T3.com in the fields of gaming, social media, streaming services, autonomous vehicles, phones, virtual reality headsets, wireless speakers and future tech. He studied journalism at the University of the West of England and is a holder of the Bronze and Silver The Duke of Edinburgh Award.