The source of the photos was apparently a Web-based Snapchat app that was hacked, and the photos have now done the exact opposite of self-destructing. A cache of 13 gigabytes of stolen selfies, belonging to about 200,000 Snapchat users out of the tens of millions of people estimated to use the app, was available to download and linked on the online mischief hub 4chan, but the site where it was hosted is now down. That may be because the people in some of the sexier snaps might be underage, which would technically make the files child pornography.
Snapchat has acknowledged the hack, but points out that it’s users’ own darn fault for sending their photos through outside apps. In a statement to VentureBeat, the company said:
Snapchatters were victimized 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.
The company does know something about security breaches, having made its systems more secure after one at the beginning of this year. Snapchat wants to assure users that their service has not been breached, and users’ passwords haven’t been stolen, either. That said, be careful which outside apps you use to access certain sites, especially if you send photos that you’d rather have self-destruct.
Snapchat blames users of ‘illegal third-party apps’ for nude photo hack [VentureBeat]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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