MeetMindful Breach

MeetMindful is a dating website that focuses on matching users with other like-minded people. The site has raving reviews and over 1.7 million monthly users.

What Was the Breach?

The breach was a hack into the systems containing the personal data of the victims. The hacker is said to be involved in sextortion, where they contact dating site users and threaten to expose them to their families if they don’t pay the allotted ransom. This might not seem like a big deal in America, but in some places, even adults aren’t allowed to date without their family’s permission. This could cause a significant issue for many of these users.

How Did the Breach Occur?

This breach occurred when a hacker that goes by the name of ShinyHunters broke into the internal systems of the dating service. They accessed nearly all of the personal information of the victims. The hacker exposed things as private as “body details,” marital status, and even longitude and latitude to themself.

When Did This Breach Occur?

This hack occurred in January 2021.

Who Does the Breach Impact?

The breach can impact pretty much anyone that uses the service. App users are supposedly at even higher risk due to the app needing access to location, photos, files, contacts, and other things that your computer might not have.

How Many Files Does the Breach Affect?

The breach affected over 2.8 million users. These users live worldwide, from America to India and back again.