Hackers have breached MyFitnessPal, one of the most popular calorie-counting apps and websites out there, exposing private data of about 150 million users. According to a report in the Huffington Post, Under Armour Inc., which owns the nutritional app, announced that an “unauthorized party” gained access to the data in late February. Information acquired by the thieves included user names, email addresses and passwords, the company said.
Personal Information Compromised
Other types of personal information such as driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers were not exposed since the app doesn’t collect that information. Credit card information was also not compromised because the company collects and processes that information separately. The company has said it does not know the identity of the party responsible for the security breach. MyFitnessPal essentially allows users to track their daily calorie intake and daily meals. It also provides nutritional information for thousands of foods through its database.
In a note to the app’s users, Under Armour’s Chief Digital Officer, Paul Fipps, said the company learned about the breach on Sunday and alerted users four days later. He said they are working with leading data security firms to help with the probe and that they are also coordinating with law enforcement officials. The company has urged those using MyFitnessPal to change their passwords right away.
Latest in a Series of Data Breaches
Under Armour is only the latest target in a series of security breaches affecting companies. Earlier this month, travel booking site Orbitz, announced that it had a security breach that affected about 880,000 payment cards from the site’s users. In 2017, credit monitoring company Equifax announced a data breach affected nearly 150 million users. Other major companies and organizations that faced widespread data breaches recently include rideshare company Uber, Yahoo and the Pentagon.
So, what can you do if you suspect your information has been compromised in a data breach? Here are a few steps you can take:
- Get all the information you can about the breach.
- If any of your credit or financial information was involved, let your bank, mortgage lender and other financial organizations know that your data has been compromised. That will give them a heads up to look out for suspicious activity on your accounts.
- Keep a close eye on fraudulent activity on your accounts. Be sure to check all statements regularly.
- Check your credit report.
- Change your passwords. In fact, it’s a good idea to do so every 90 days. Include numbers, symbols and uppercase and lower case letters in your new passwords.
If your information has been compromised in a data breach, you may be able to join a class action lawsuit seeking compensation for your losses. An experienced consumer lawyer will be able to provide you with more information about protecting your rights.
Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/myfitnesspal-security-breach_us_5abd5859e4b0a47437a9a459
