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Opera’s Reported Server Breach: Time to Reset Your Password

It is normal for data breaches to occur from time to time. However, they rarely target the sync service of your browser. Opera is the most recent victim for hacking. This means that most Opera users could be at risk of delicate information leak. The company has warned its users of a possible hack and said that intruders can now access their login information.

This means that, if you are an Opera user and you use the cloud sync option of the browser, your synchronized details could be accessed by hackers. This is risky and should be approached with much caution. Although the company has not established the extent of the breach just yet, speculations that saved passwords could be leaked are too high.

In addition, Opera hasn’t released enough details regarding the recent hack. It is warning its users to be more careful when using this browser and recommended password change. According to the company, it has detected possible signs of intruders and its worried that someone did access to its servers it uses to synchronize information.

Upon noticing the possible breach, the company responded swiftly by blocking the intruders quickly. However, this shouldn’t be taken as an assurance of immunity. This is because a professional hacker needs only a few seconds on a server to gain whatever information they are looking for. Therefore, the company isn’t certain whether any information was compromised.

The worst that can happen is the likelihood of the intruders to access synched passwords that have been stored on the server. Additionally, user-names are prone to leakages not forgetting the associated account passwords. This indicates that, if you are a heavy Opera user, your user-names and passwords are not that secure as you might think.
According to Opera, it runs a wisely designed sync system. Usually, synched passwords will be encrypted on the server for maximum security. This means that, in the event of hacking, this delicate information would be of no use to hackers. However, there is still a problem. There is a high possibility that these intruders gained access to passwords to the accounts as well. This signifies a high potential to descript synched passwords.

The company has asked its users to change their third party passwords in order to be on the safe side. This will help a great deal if the intruders haven’t gained access to your account just yet. Third party passwords are normally stored on the sync system and changing them could help. However, the company doesn’t have any tangible evidence to prove that these evidences were taken.

The company is a proprietor software manufacturer meaning that they have not revealed sufficient information regarding the design of their security. Otherwise, it could have been easier for users to establish the extent of the breach and the damages caused. For now, users are still in the dark and no one is in a position to tell whether their account details have been compromised.

The web sync feature used by the company allows users to synchronize settings and browser information across a number of devices. The company has noted a decrease in the number of users who actively use this feature. According to sources, the number has reduced by 0.5% out of the 350 million user base. Password reset remains a precaution that should be taken by every Opera user.

Security concerns have continued to recur in the last few years. For example, Dropbox informed its users that it was in the process of resetting passwords for people who had not done that since 2012. This was as a result of user credentials’ hacking that saw a lot of important user details revealed to hackers.

Opera noted that majority of users will not be affected by the recent attack. This is because most users prefer not to sync their important details. However, over 1.7 million users are at a great risk. Additionally, other inactive users could be storing their useful passwords on the browser exposing themselves to possible leak of their security details in the event of security breach.

Conclusion

The recent breach of the Opera servers remains to be the biggest of all. Opera users who sync their important security information with the browser are more vulnerable. The company has suggested users to change their passwords to prevent possible access to their accounts. According to opera, it is not sure about the magnitude of the attack and has urged users to be extra careful.