So after HaveIBeenPwned started notifying users of a MoDaCo breach, and users started complaining on MoDaCo’s forum as to why they hadn’t been informed of the breach by MoDaCo and would MoDaCo please delete their accounts, MoDaCo issued the following statement:
Earlier today a number of users contacted us to inform us that data breach tracking site, haveibeenpwned.com, is notifying users of a data breach of the MoDaCo database.
After initial investigations, we have determined that this report is correct – a dump of the MoDaCo database has been extracted by an unauthorised entity.
First of all – we are of course very disappointed that this has happened, the security of your data is very important to us – I appreciate we’ve let you down in this regard but hope we can allay some concerns and do our best to rebuild your confidence starting now.
MoDaCo runs on a market leading CMS, is regularly updated and runs on a server which too receives regular updates and security scans. We chose the CMS we use because it receives frequent security fixes and most importantly, stores passwords in a very secure Blowfish based form.
In that regard, we think that passwords are well protected against unauthorised use, however a small amount of additional data (such as username and email address) are also included in the dump.
We have determined that the breach is likely to have occurred by way of a compromised Administrator account. We have taken action to prevent this vector being accessible in this way in the future, for us it is a lesson learned, albeit in a very difficult way to stomach. We are also liaising with the CMS provider to determine additional ways to mitigate similar attacks going forward.
Finally, should any users wish their data to be removed from MoDaCo, of course we will arrange for that to be completed. Should this be the case, please email [email protected].
Once again, I offer my sincere apologies and ask for your understanding in this matter.
Cheers,