Spotify to ask users to re-enter passwords after cyberattack
Reuters
May 28, 2014, 2:31 am
Headsets hang in front of a screen displaying a Spotify logo on it, in Zenica February 20, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify AB will ask some of its 40 million users to re-enter their passwords and upgrade their software in coming days after detecting unauthorized access to its internal systems and data.
Chief Technology Officer Oskar Stal said in a blogpost on Tuesday that it has found evidence of attackers accessing just one user's data, which did not include payment or password information. But as a precaution, it intends to ask "certain Spotify users" to re-enter their log-in credentials, and upgrade their Google Android app.
Spotify said it is not recommending any action yet for users of Apple Inc iPhones or devices based on Microsoft's Windows.
The intrusion was the latest to hit a major tech company. In past months, cyberattackers have infiltrated databases and systems at eBay Inc and Adobe, though no financial information has so far been taken, according to the companies. Spotify, which is expected to seek an IPO soon, has more than 40 million active users scattered across more than 50 markets.
"We have taken steps to strengthen our security systems in general and help protect you and your data - and we will continue to do so. We will be taking further actions in the coming days to increase security for our users," Stal said in his blogpost. (http://news.spotify.com/us/2014/05/27/important-notice-to-our-users)
(This story has been corrected to show that Spotify will ask users to re-enter their passwords and other log-in credentials, not necessarily to change them, in headline and paragraphs 1-2)
(Reporting by San Francisco newsroom; editing by Andrew Hay)
