"Mixed Messages as Neopets Scrambles to Respond to Mega Breach"

Tens of millions of users of a popular virtual pet site may have had their data compromised in the first known US mega breach of 2022.  Neopets is owned by US giant Viacom.  Viacom stated that Neopets recently discovered that customer data may have been stolen.  Neopets also noted that it appears that email addresses and passwords used to access Neopets accounts may have been affected.  Viacom strongly recommends that users change their Neopets password.  The company also noted that if a user uses the same password on other websites, they recommend changing those passwords.  However, moderators on the Neopets Discord channel warned that hackers still had access to Neopets systems, so changing passwords now would not work.  They also claimed that more than email addresses and passwords had been stolen.  The discord moderators stated that a reported 69+ million accounts have been compromised, with the breadth of exposed personal information including passwords, birth dates, genders, names, countries, and IP addresses.  Rebecca Moody, a data researcher at Compairtech, stated that what is perhaps more concerning is the potential age range of the users affected, with the website being popular among children and teens as well as adults.  

Infosecurity reports: "Mixed Messages as Neopets Scrambles to Respond to Mega Breach"