Environmental activist site hacked, 18M members compromised

Hackers broke into the website of an environmental activist group before the New Year, compromising the credentials of its 18 million members.

 

Environmental activist site Care2 issued a alert email to its members informing them their passwords had been reset as a security precaution.

 

"To protect Care2 members we are resetting access to all Care2 accounts. The next time you login to Care2, you will be automatically emailed a new password, which will enable you to access your Care2 account as usual," Care2 founder and CEO Randy Paynter said in a blog post.

 

For now, he said their initial findings showed the IP address used in the attack originate from Russia.

 

But he said this is inconclusive as hackers use techniques to disguise their identity and locatio, "so we can’t say for sure where the attack originated."

 

He said they have contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into the breach.

 

In the meantime, he recommended that the users immediately change their passwords for any accounts that share the password they previously used on Care2.

 

Also, Paynter apologized for the inconvenience, adding Care2 takes the security of its members very seriously and is seeking to reduce the chances of any possible negative consequences.

 

"We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience.  Given our large membership size, we have become a significant target for spammers and hackers over the past few years, and this was the first hacking attempt that successfully breached our protective walls," he said.

 

Paynter said members can visit http://www.care2.com/retrieve_password and enter their username or email address in the green box titled “Forgot your password or log-in name?”

 

Also, he said the security breach at Care2 has been stopped.

 

"We immediately closed the hole that the hackers found and blocked access to account logins," he said. — TJD, GMA News