Evernote resets passwords of all 50m users after hack

Evernote, the online file storage company, has forced all users to change their passwords after its security channels were breached by hackers.

Although the Californian-based company has insisted that no payment or personal details were unlawfully accessed by the intruders, it has confirmed that user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords for its 50 million users have been obtained.

The latest incident in a recent flurry of high-profile hacking attacks, Evernote follows the likes of Twitter, Facebook and even Apple in admitting that hackers have gained unwarranted access to their machines and servers.

A cloud storage company which allows users to centrally store and remotely access all manner of files, from documents, images, itineraries and videos, Evernote has stressed that there has been “no evidence” that stored content was accessed, stolen or modified. Responding the attacks, Evernote is insisting that all of its 50 million plus users change their passwords in a bid to stave off further issues.

Suggesting that the attack “was not the work of amateurs,” Evernote’s Information Security Director, Bob Lord, said that the issue of hacking was becoming “far more common” at other “large services.” He apologised to Evernote users “for the annoyance” caused and said the company had spotted “suspicious activity on the network that appears to have been a coordinated attempt to access secure areas of the Evernote service”.

Speaking via a statement on its official website, the company added: “While our password encryption measures are robust, we are taking additional steps to ensure that your personal data remains secure.

“This means that, in an abundance of caution, we are requiring all users to reset their Evernote account passwords.”

Far from the first top-tier technology company to be targeted by hackers, already this year a number of the world’s biggest firms have had their security systems breached with Apple, earlier this month, revealing a number of its internal machines had been accessed. the Cupertino company, whilst admitting the intrusion, insisted that no data had been accessed or stolen.

One of the most high-profile targets of the recent spate of attacks, Twitter has been repeatedly hit by hackers in past weeks with the micro blogging site forced to reset the passwords of 250,000 users after their accounts were breached.

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