VK Data Breach: 390 Million Users Exposed

A massive data breach involving VKontakte (VK), a popular Russian social media platform, has exposed the personal details of over 390 million users. The stolen data, amounting to 27.6 GB, was leaked on a hacker forum by a user known as HikkI-Chan.

The data includes full names, locations, profile pictures, and email addresses of VK users. Although sensitive details such as phone numbers and passwords were not part of the leak, the exposed information still presents significant privacy risks, as it can be exploited for identity theft or the creation of fake profiles.

The breach is particularly concerning as it stems from a “second-order breach,” meaning the data was not directly hacked from VK servers.

Instead, it was obtained through a third-party breach. VK representatives have denied any direct security breaches, claiming that the exposed data was collected from publicly available sources, such as user profiles, and does not include confidential information.

However, cybersecurity experts warn that even seemingly harmless data can be weaponised by cybercriminals, especially when combined with other breached data. This is not VK’s first major incident; it has faced similar data breaches in the past, including a 2016 leak where 100 million accounts were sold online.

This incident highlights the need for stronger data protection measures and user privacy awareness, particularly on social platforms that are highly targeted by hackers.

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One more thing, at Pfortner, we take communications privacy very seriously. We encrypt email, messaging and network communications to provide our clientele with uncompromised privacy.

If you need to protect sensitive communications, please see www.pfortner.co.za or send an email to info@pfortner.co.za, and we will get back to you.