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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

URGENT: New data leak

226 replies

KitKat1985 · 19/08/2015 21:08

New data has just been leaked on the DadSec page - all the Mumsnet partner companies.

This is a huge breach and must have come from within your server as this wouldn't have just been phished.

OP posts:
wickedlazy · 20/08/2015 00:53

You would probably just get a weird voicemail or strange on hold music.

OutToGetYou · 20/08/2015 00:56

If dp were here, he'd call them - he works in some type of Internet security/firewall stuff, he probably works for the company mn will be calling in to help once this all settles down as they are the market leader. But he's away and I've not mentioned all this to him.

But you're right, 'Jeffrey' could just as easily have posted one of our numbers of course!

BertieBotts · 20/08/2015 00:59

Yeah could be somebody's real number which wouldn't be very fair.

It's not on any of the directory enquiries sites, though. All of the real phone numbers I know did come up with a name and address.

So either somebody ex directory or it's nor a real number.

OutToGetYou · 20/08/2015 01:04

Soft phone numbers are not in address books - I use a soft number for my business (coincidentally a Cambs coded one, I don't live in Cambs but it looks better than other codes). You don't really find them anywhere.

I've just Googled our home phone number and nothing comes up to say it is ours, and that's a 'normal' landline.

Tigger365 · 20/08/2015 01:13

Well, I'm happy to say I'm not in the list, which would suggest it's a relatively old one.
He says he's got a 'mod' on his team, that's how he's getting everything but not why.
I'm pretty sure it's illegal though.

That clown is freaky as fuck though shudders

SniffsAndSneezes · 20/08/2015 01:25

Ahh, thanks Christine - I'd been thinking Jeffrey was the name of the traitorous MN mod- if indeed that's even true

Collaborate · 20/08/2015 07:41

The dadsec website that's spilling all this out has a .gq domain, which is Equatorial Guinea. The telephone number is has on it is a Cambridge area code, but please don't call it as I'm sure it's just another attempt at a troll and if it is real it's not going to be theirs.

BertieBotts · 20/08/2015 08:29

The domain is a bit of a red herring I'm afraid. You don't have to be physically in a country to open a website there (but it's a nice legal loophole as it's more difficult to get prosecuted for anything you host there)

hibbleddible · 20/08/2015 11:10

This all just gets more embarrassing for mumsnet, doesn't it?

Regardless of whether the original attack was phishing, they would have had to have compromised the site to phish in the way they did.

I think there is a lot mnhq is not telling us.

BertrandRussell · 20/08/2015 11:16

We do have to remember that mumsnet is a business. I know we think of it as a lovely chat over the garden fence and all, and that's how Mumanet HQ characterise themselves, but it's not really. It's a big operation and there's lots of money involved. And obviously, the advertisers take priority. That's the income stream.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 20/08/2015 11:18

I disagree. If you knew anything about bank security you'd probably be astounded and hiding under your tin hat!

Is it embarrassing for victims of other attacks? Victim blaming is pretty shitty really.

SurlyCue · 20/08/2015 12:15

Well, I'm happy to say I'm not in the list, which would suggest it's a relatively old one.

It doesnt suggest that at all. The list contains around 3000 MN usernames. There are around 4 million MNers. You not being on the list is no indication of when the data was collected.

SurlyCue · 20/08/2015 12:16

Actually it contains less than 3000 names as there are lots of duplications (and triplications and so on)

Quicknamechange54321 · 20/08/2015 12:27

I'm on the list under this name change and I only created it a couple of weeks ago. I have been using it to log in for that time as I didn't want to accidentally post on the specific thread I created it for under my usual username! :) I suspect I was caught in the way that MNHQ have suggested as I was logged out the other evening and logged in again without a second thought.

RedToothBrush · 20/08/2015 12:34

I knew this was a server leak. MN - do you have a way to secure the server? Honestly?

If they have published MNUser names rather than email addresses and passwords, then I am fairly sure that wouldn't come from the server but would be a brute force hacker attempt where they have harvested user names and then run a programme which uses the most common passwords.

It would then know the passwords as it would know which password matches with which account.

Since MN themselves don't have a list of passwords as they are encrypted, this is the most likely explanation rather than 'decrypting' them.

DH said this was a likely possibly rather than phishing (and I posted accordingly on another thread). It would not take long to do.

The leak regarding partners is something else - its possible this has come from the servers in some way (its also likely to be less protected information that user names etc and therefore more at risk as its probably not encrypted in the same way).

I will try and confirm this with DH later when I can get hold of him, however I do suspect that its shit passwords by users that are the weak point. Something that has probably been remedied by changing the password requirement to a minimum of 10 characters because the most used passwords are generally shorter than this.

TheTravellingLemon · 20/08/2015 12:36

I'm on the list and it rings true to me too. I even think I remember the exact time I got my details taken.

I literally have no idea about anything anymore I've created that many passwords in the last few days! I dreamt about mumsnet last night. I need to step awayBlush.

clam · 20/08/2015 12:38

I just went on to another site to change my password and there was a whole range of requirements in order to make it strong (more than MN are asking for, even now), e.g minimum 10 characters, range of letters/numbers/other characters/mix of capital and lowercase, plus one I hadn't seen before which is no repeated consecutive characters.

GingerCuddleMonsterThe2nd · 20/08/2015 12:41

bah so tempted to ring the number.....must not give in to temptation.....

KitKat1985 · 20/08/2015 12:52

[Ignoring hacker stuff temporarily]

Waves to RedToothBrush Nice to see you. Smile

OP posts:
LurkingHusband · 20/08/2015 13:01

I've often thought there should be an ISO standard for web authentication. Minimum password strength, and a prescribed way to store username/passwords, along with a standardised way to recover lost credentials.

Because as things stand, every website + dog, seems to roll their own. With hilarious results ....

surpriseitsme · 20/08/2015 13:05

I'm tempted to walk to a phone box!

GingerCuddleMonsterThe2nd · 20/08/2015 13:07

I have a phonebox at the end of the road....No Ginger NO....resist....

Ledkr · 20/08/2015 13:49

He's an odious little twerp isn't he?
He needs a bloody job, too much time on his hands imo.

Ledkr · 20/08/2015 13:50

Go on, call it!!

Ledkr · 20/08/2015 13:50

He will answer with a spooky echoey laughter

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