Hackers gain access to Zynga’s database, exposing 218,000,000 customers’ data

Exploit: Unauthorized database access
Zynga: Social game development company

Risk to Small Business: 2 = Severe: Hackers gained access to the company’s database, which exposed the personally identifiable information(PII) for millions of customers. The company discovered the breach in September, and they responded by hiring an external investigator to determine the scope and severity of the breach. Unfortunately, by the time they responded, hackers uploaded user data to various hacker forums.

Individual Risk: 2.428 = Severe: The data breach applies to all users of the platform’s popular Words with Friends gaming app on Android and iOS who registered on or before September 2, 2019. In addition, some users of Draw Something, another mobile game produced by Zynga, were compromised. The exposed information includes names, email addresses, login IDs, hashed passwords, password reset tokens, phone numbers, Facebook IDs, and other Zynga account details. Since this information is already available to bad actors on the Dark Web and will be used to perpetuate additional cybercrimes, those impacted by the breach should carefully monitor their accounts while being especially watchful for other fraudulent communications.

Customers Impacted: 218,000,000
How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Data security is increasingly top of mind for consumers. For companies operating in a highly competitive marketplace, it can mean the difference between keeping your customers happy while increasing revenue or losing them forever. Therefore, businesses of every size need to meet the moment by understanding their vulnerabilities, embracing best practices for cyber defense, and building a breach response action plan.

Risk Levels:

1 - 1.5 = Extreme Risk
1.51 - 2.49 = Severe Risk
2.5 - 3 = Moderate Risk

*The risk score is calculated using a formula that considers a wide range of factors related to the assessed breach.