Pornhub is facing an extortion threat from a well-known hacking crew that claims to have data on some of the site's paying customers. Reuters and the Guardian report that ShinyHunters stole email addresses and search and watch history tied to select Pornhub Premium accounts and is demanding a Bitcoin payout to keep the data from being posted online and to "delete the data." Reuters couldn't immediately determine how extensive the breach might be but reviewed a sample and was able to partially verify it. Three former premium users in Canada and the US confirmed the details about them were genuine, though several years old, and spoke anonymously due to privacy concerns.
The hackers declined to offer specifics on the mechanics of the breach beyond saying the trove is linked to a security incident involving Mixpanel, a data analytics firm Pornhub previously used. Mixpanel, which reported its own cybersecurity issue on Nov. 27, pushed back on the hackers' claim, saying it has no evidence Pornhub data was taken in that incident or any other. "If this data is in the hands of an unauthorized party, we do not believe that is the result of a security incident at Mixpanel," the company said. BleepingComputer notes Mixpanel and Pornhub broke off ties in 2021, so if the hack is Mixpanel-related, the data would likely all date to 2021 or before. ShinyHunters has in the past gone after companies including Salesforce and Ticketmaster.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
