Plex Suffers Data Breach, Warns Users to Reset Passwords

Streaming media platform Plex despatched out an e mail to all its customers on Wednesday, August 24, advising them to vary their passwords as quickly as doable.

Within the communication message, the corporate stated it found suspicious exercise on considered one of its databases on Tuesday, August 23.

“We instantly started an investigation and it does seem {that a} third-party was in a position to entry a restricted subset of information that features emails, usernames, and encrypted passwords,” Plex wrote.

The streaming platform didn’t verify whether or not any personally identifiable data (PII) or non-public media libraries had been compromised however did point out that each one account passwords that might have been accessed had been secured.

“Despite the fact that all account passwords that might have been accessed had been hashed and secured in accordance with finest practices, out of an abundance of warning we’re requiring all Plex accounts to have their password reset,” the Plex e mail reads.

“Relaxation assured that bank card and different cost information aren’t saved on our servers in any respect and weren’t susceptible on this incident,” the corporate added.

Additional, Plex requested clients to verify the checkbox “signal out related units after password change” was ticked through the password-changing course of.

Regardless of Plex’s reassurances, nonetheless, some customers skilled issues changing their passwords following the directions offered by the corporate. Troy Hunt, Creator of “Have I Been Pwned,” steered a doable resolution to the issue.

“As others have steered, not making an attempt to signal out present units appears to work. Go determine,” Hunt wrote.

Since Plex despatched out the e-mail to warn customers concerning the password breach, the Plex web site has been typically slowed down, presumably because of multitudes of customers speeding in to vary their passwords. On the time of writing, nonetheless, the location appears to be loading usually.

The Plex breach comes weeks after hackers reportedly stole 20GB of information from considered one of Marriott Worldwide lodges within the US.

Extra typically, a current report by IBM steered that the common value of a world information breach stood at $4.35m as of July 2022.