Flipboard Hack Exposed Usernames, Email Addresses and Hashed Passwords

Flipboard today emailed Flipboard users to let them know about a security breach that saw usernames, email addresses, and protected passwords accessed by hackers.

Between June 2, 2018 and April 22, 2019, there was "unauthorized access" to Flipboard databases that leaked account information. Flipboard says the hackers "potentially obtained copies" of some databases, and has not yet shared details on how many accounts were compromised.

flipboardsecuritybreach
Databases included Flipboard usernames, names, email addresses, and passwords, but the passwords were salted and hashed, which means they weren't stored in plaintext and would be difficult to crack.

Also included were digital tokens used to connect Flipboard to third party services like Twitter or Facebook, if users had indeed connected their Flipboard accounts to their social media networks.

Flipboard is resetting all user passwords and replacing or deleting all digital tokens. If you connected Flipboard to Facebook or Twitter, you will need to reconnect your accounts.

Flipboard says that to prevent something like this from happening again, it has implemented "enhanced security measures." Law enforcement officials have also been notified.

The company recommends that users who use the same username and password for Flipboard that they use for other accounts change their passwords for other services as a precautionary measure.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...

Top Rated Comments

nwcs Avatar
77 months ago
While not excusing a breach, the reality is that security is multilayered and simply very hard. It’s a lot like keeping squirrels from bird feeders. The people looking to breach spend all their time and resources to breach but the security people can only do so much.

Factor in third party libraries with their own vulnerabilities, software vulnerabilities, hardware vulnerabilities, and human weaknesses to phishing and the like and the job is even harder.

After having dealt with various security stuff over the years, working with third parties in software scanning, pen testers, etc. I’ve realized that the odds are stacked perpetually against any company. There are more hackers out there with agendas, resources, and cleverness than there are people available to defend against them in every corporation. It’s the blessing and curse of the internet all at once.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
77 months ago
The bad news keeps coming from social media sites that do a poor job in protecting their networks.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chelsel Avatar
77 months ago
Who are the CTOs and engineers of these companies that decide they want to write their own authentication systems!? Companies need to start getting class action lawsuits for privacy violations and sued into oblivion... then they will start taking security seriously.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
burgman Avatar
77 months ago
The bad news keeps coming from social media sites that do a poor job in protecting their networks.
I’ve never even heard of flipboard.. but then again I’ve never even had a FB account so that’s how little I give a flyin f about social media/
Thanks for the laugh, because it starts with an F it must be Facebook clone? Flipboard is a curated news app. :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
77 months ago
I appreciate their transparency. Certain other companies would try to cover it up.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
edgonzalez32 Avatar
77 months ago
While not excusing a breach, the reality is that security is multilayered and simply very hard. It’s a lot like keeping squirrels from bird feeders. The people looking to breach spend all their time and resources to breach but the security people can only do so much.

Factor in third party libraries with their own vulnerabilities, software vulnerabilities, hardware vulnerabilities, and human weaknesses to phishing and the like and the job is even harder.

After having dealt with various security stuff over the years, working with third parties in software scanning, pen testers, etc. I’ve realized that the odds are stacked perpetually against any company. There are more hackers out there with agendas, resources, and cleverness than there are people available to defend against them in every corporation. It’s the blessing and curse of the internet all at once.
Yea, like people are way too quick to just start ******** all over a company when a data breach happens. Its insanely complex.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)