Hackers have attacked the photo messaging app Snapchat and leaked the usernames and phone numbers of about 4.6 million accounts and also posted them online temporarily.
The data was made available for download by a website dubbed SnapchatDB.info, in the wake of a warning of vulnerabilities in Snapchat’s app by an Australian firm, Gibson Security.
Citing a report from SnapchatDB, TechCrunch revealed that hackers behind the site that published the phone numbers received the data via a recently detected and fixed Snapchat vulnerability.
Gibson Security said it was not engaged in the hack.
"We know nothing about SnapchatDB, but it was a matter of time till something like that happened," the firm said.
In addition, the hackers had reportedly made use of the security loophole underlined by the Australian security firm.
Earlier, responding to the Gibson report, Snapchat admitted a potential loophole, while revealed that it had taken particular steps to safeguard user data.
Snapchat said: "Theoretically, if someone were able to upload a huge set of phone numbers, like every number in an area code, or every possible number in the US, they could create a database of the results and match usernames to phone numbers that way.
"We recently added additional counter-measures and continue to make improvements to combat spam and abuse," the photo sharing app developer said.
