Slack password reset coming to thousands of users

Slack
(Image credit: Slack) (Image credit: Slack)

Slack is set to reset password for thousands of users as it looks to respond to a data breach.

The popular messaging app has confirmed it will reset the passwords of users it believes could be affected by a historical data breach.

Around one percent of all Slack users are thought to be affected by the attack - equivalent to over 65,000 customers.

Breached

Slack was hit by a cyberattack back in 2015 when hackers to its user profile database. This included access to the scrambled passwords of users, however the hackers inserted code that scraped the user’s plaintext password as it was initally entered.

Slack said it did not believe accounts were compromised in the attack, but did not provide any further details as to why this would be - although it said that accounts that require single sign-on through a company’s network are not affected.

The company said it had become aware of the attack after being recently contacted through its bug bounty programabout a list of allegedly compromised Slack account passwords.

Slack was recently valued at over $20bn after going public back in June, and counts over 10 million active daily users worldwide, including the likes of the BBC, Lyft and 21st Century Fox.

It recently revealed a number of security upgrades to its platform, including the launch of Enterprise Key Management to give an added layer of protection. The new service will allow businesses admins full control over the encryption keys used to encrypt the files and messages within their Slack workspace.

Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.

Latest in Security
person at a computer
Many workers are overconfident at spotting phishing attacks
Data Breach
Thousands of healthcare records exposed online, including private patient information
China
Juniper patches security flaws which could have let hackers take over your router
Representational image depecting cybersecurity protection
GitLab has patched a host of worrying security issues
Ai tech, businessman show virtual graphic Global Internet connect Chatgpt Chat with AI, Artificial Intelligence.
AI agents can be hijacked to write and send phishing attacks
China
Volt Typhoon threat group had access to American utility networks for the best part of a year
Latest in News
Circular smart ring
Circular's new smart ring is getting blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring before the Apple Watch
iPad mini 2021
Huawei might have beaten Apple to the folding phone finish line by creating a foldable 'iPad mini'
Google Pixel 9 in green Wintergreen color showing AI features on screen
Multiple hands-on Google Pixel 9a videos have emerged, days ahead of the likely launch
A man getting angry with his laptop.
Windows 11 bug deletes Copilot from the OS – is this the first glitch ever some users will be happy to encounter?
Teams on iPhone and Mac
Microsoft Teams has a whole new way for you to talk to (or annoy) your co-workers
Apple Intelligence
It’s crunch time for Apple Intelligence as Apple execs look for a solution to the company’s AI woes