Kickstarter Hack Causes Concern

Global crowdfunding giant Kickstarter released a statement over the weekend, admitting that user data had been accessed and encouraging password changes.

The company claimed that no credit card information had been stolen, and only partial digits from those cards based outside the United States are kept on file at all.

In an email to users, Kickstarter said: “While no credit card data was accessed, some information about our customers was. Accessed information included usernames, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and encrypted passwords. Actual passwords were not revealed, however it is possible for a malicious person with enough computing power to guess and crack an encrypted password, particularly a weak or obvious one.”

A key concern expressed in some parts of the tech media is why the company took so long to reveal the hack, which happened on Wednesday. The users were informed on Saturday. For those using Facebook to login to the popular crowdfunding portal, Kickstarter added, “As a precaution we reset all Facebook login credentials. Facebook users can simply reconnect when they come to Kickstarter.”

Tags: crowdfunding, hacking, Kickstarter