A major security breach involving Dropbox exposed approximately 5,000 user accounts during August, with unauthorized attackers gaining access to stored files in at least some of the compromised accounts.

B’Chadrei Chareidim reported Thursday morning that the security incident continued for nearly three weeks and allowed unauthorized individuals to gain access to affected accounts.

In some cases, the attackers were able not only to view files stored inside the accounts but also download them, significantly increasing the potential exposure of private information.

The breach was linked to an older authentication mechanism used by the cloud-storage service. Following discovery of the security problem, the company disconnected the legacy mechanism and changed its login process.

Dropbox is widely used by individuals and businesses to store documents and other files remotely, making unauthorized access to affected accounts potentially significant for users whose private material was stored on the service.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)