GMA News Online SciTech » Technology

A 17-year-old hacker claimed to hack into a hardcore porn site, exposing the data of some 350,000 users, a computer security firm said Tuesday.

 

Sophos said the Morocco-based teen claimed to have stolen the personal information of the 350,000 users of hardcore porn mavens Brazzers.

 

"The point, claims the hacker, was to highlight a security vulnerability on the adult site," Sophos said in a blog post.

 

It cited news reports indicating the teen uploaded a small part of the stolen data to the Internet, displaying customer emails, usernames and passwords.

 

Sophos said Karen Miller, spokesperson for Brazzers' parent company Manwin Holding, reportedly said that the hacker accessed their websites via an old user forum.

 

Miller also said Manwin and Brazzers were contacting everyone who was potentially affected by the breach but underlined that no credit card information was stolen.

 

"The thing that gets me here is that if the hacker was genuinely concerned about the vulnerability on the site, why didn't he follow more responsible disclosure practices?" Sophos said.

 

It said the hacker could have called Brazzers, explained the situation and given them an agreed amount of time to fix the problem.

 

"But there is a take-away for us all here - individuals and companies alike: Good housekeeping matters. Make sure to close down accounts and websites you no longer use. Leaving them unpatched, vulnerable and connected is just trouble waiting to happen," it added. — RSJ, GMA News