I was somewhat surprised to receive an e-mail from Adobe this afternoon about the October 3 hack. Then I read it and decided to post it here as an example of their follow-up/communications:
As we announced on October 3, Adobe discovered sophisticated attacks on our network involving the illegal access and removal of a backup database containing Adobe IDs and encrypted passwords. We are writing to let you know that your Adobe ID was in the database taken by the attackers — but, importantly, your current password was not . As a result, we did not reset your password. We have no reason to believe that your Adobe ID account is at risk or that there has been unauthorized activity on your account. The database taken by the attackers came from a backup system that contained many out-of-date records and was designated to be decommissioned. Adobe’s authentication system of record, which cryptographically hashes and salts customer passwords, was not the source of the database that was taken.
However, if you use your old passwords on any other websites, you should change those passwords. We also recommend that you follow password best practices to help ensure your current password is secure:
- Don’t reuse passwords: Your password should be unique to your Adobe ID account. Don’t reuse a password you have previously used with your Adobe ID or a password you are using on any other website.
- Make sure your password is difficult to guess: Your password should be at least eight (8) characters in length. It should contain a mix of different character sets, such as upper case letters (A-Z), lower case letters (a-z), digits (0-9), and special characters (# $ % & – _ { }). It should not use all or part of your name or your Adobe ID.
We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause you. We value the trust of our customers and are working aggressively to prevent these types of events from occurring in the future. If you have questions, you can learn more by visiting our Customer Care page, which you will find here.
Adobe Customer Care