Snapchat gets hacked, users’ data uncompromised

The social media app has proved it’s susceptible to phishing after employee data was mistakenly sent to scammers over the weekend.

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Snapchat is facing heavy criticism after an employee unknowingly leaked sensitive payroll data to a phishing scammer.

The social media organization issued “An Apology to Our Employees.”

“The good news is that our servers were not breached, and our users’ data was totally unaffected by this,” the statement said. “The bad news is that a number of our employees have now had their identity compromised. And for that, we’re just impossibly sorry.”

A scammer impersonating Snapchat’s CEO Evan Spiegel requested payroll information about current and former employees. The Human Resources employee handed over the information.

Snapchat’s blog states that the incident was reported to FBI within four hours of the attack. The organization is offering affected employees two years of free identity-theft insurance.

Ars Technica writer Sean Gallagher reported that “whaling” attacks are on the rise.

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