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Myspace Breach Reportedly Affects 360M Records

Myspace might be a thing of the past, but if you tend to reuse passwords, you could be at risk.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Myspace on Tuesday confirmed reports that it suffered a major data breach in 2013 and that the stolen information is now up for sale online.

"Shortly before the Memorial Day weekend, we became aware that stolen Myspace user login data was being made available in an online hacker forum," the site wrote in a blog post. The breach occurred on June 11, 2013, and affects a portion accounts created on the old Myspace platform.

Myspace did not reveal how many accounts were affected, but LeakedSource, a search engine for leaked records, which claims to have obtained a copy of the stolen information, said the data set includes 360,213,024 records. Each record may contain an email address, username, one password, and in some cases a second password; no financial information was involved.

Even if you haven't used Myspace in years, you may still be affected – especially if you tend to reuse the same passwords between sites.

"If you use passwords that are the same or similar to your Myspace password on other online services, we recommend you set new passwords on those accounts immediately," Myspace wrote.

According to LeakedSource, the stolen passwords were stored in SHA1 with no "salting," a process that makes them much harder to decrypt. "The methods Myspace used for storing passwords are not what internet standards propose and is very weak encryption or some would say it's not encryption," LeakedSource wrote.

Myspace said it has invalidated all affected passwords; if your account was involved, you'll be prompted to reset your password the next time you sign in. The site said it has taken "significant steps" to strengthen account security since the breach and now uses double salted hashes to store passwords.

Myspace attributed the leak to a Russian hacker known as "Peace," who is also reportedly responsible for recent breaches of LinkedIn and Tumblr.

"This is an ongoing investigation, and we will share more information as it becomes available," Myspace wrote.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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