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2FA added after Slack hack

Company admits that database was compromised; deploys two-factor authentication to protect users.

By CBR Staff Writer

Online workplace collaboration tool-maker Slack has announced that its database containing user profile information was compromised.

The company reported that the compromised database contained profile information including email addresses, phone numbers, skypeIDs and encrypted passwords.

Slack highlighted that it has no indication if the hackers were able to decrypt stored passwords.

Slack acknowledge that the incident happened within the time span of four days in February and that the information was given to users after it completed an investigation to get a clear picture of the attack.

The company said that only a small number of individuals have fallen prey to the cyber attack, and has contacted them to reset their password and take appropriate security measurements.

To prevent similar incidents from happening in the future Slack has also introduced two new features which includes two-factor authentication where users will have to confirm their log-in using two systems, a feature already used by tech titans Apple and Google.

The second feature is a "Password Kill Switch" for team owners, which allows resetting of passwords across the team and forces termination of all users by the owner in case of a mishap.

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This is not the first time that Slack has come under fire for security issues, as previously the company was criticised for exposing names given to chat rooms visible to anyone.

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