Practical Fishkeeper Hacked !

[jimmyringo]

Hi All,

I just got an email from Practical Fishkeeping magazine telling me that their website has been hacked and there is a possibility that users details(email,passwords,addresses etc) have been viewed or taken.

I'm sure this concerns quite a number of people on this forum.It may be an idea to keep an eye on your bank details,particularly if you use the same email address and password for shopping online.And if you do,change your password ASAP.

jimmyringo

 

[Truck]

I've transfered all of the money in the account I use with them to a new account and have closed the other.

 

[Curiosity101]

Thankfully I've never bought anything from there, so haven't ever put bank details in.

Also very luckily I never reset my password from the one they give you. So it's also a completely different password to the ones I've used for other sites.

Wasn't very nice to read it though.

 

[jimmyringo]

Didn't realise you could buy stuff from there.Thought it was more the email address and password side of things that would alarm people.I know a lot of people use the same passwords a lot.

 

[danielryan]

i havent got an email about this?!?!?

 

[Curiosity101]

Dear Practical Fishkeeping website user

Why are we contacting you?

You have received this message because you are a registered user of our website practicalfishkeeping.co.uk.

We have been made aware that hackers have breached our website security. This is a criminal offence, and information on our register about our readers (usernames, passwords, email addresses, postal addresses and in some cases telephone numbers) may have been viewed or taken.

What are we doing?

We have taken immediate action to preserve the privacy and security of the data held by us, and are doing all we can to investigate exactly what has happened and to ensure that it cannot happen again. We have notified the Police and the Information Commissioner.

Practicalfishkeeping.co.uk is currently offline until security has been restored. You will be notified as soon as Practicalfishkeeping.co.uk is live again, and we are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience, but the security of our users is of paramount importance to us.

What should you do?

It is possible that the hackers might seek to use the information they have to commit identity fraud. You should be extra vigilant about checking for unexpected activity on your credit cards or bank accounts, and follow Home Office advice when using the Internet:

see http/links.specialist.bauermedia.co.uk/ctt?kn=2&m=34464804&r=Mzg0NjA3MDA3OQS2&b=2&j=NjE5MTA4MzYS1&mt=1&rt=0.

If you used your password for practicalfishkeeping.co.uk for other websites, you should change those passwords.

How can I contact you?

Further information please contact [email protected]

It only remains for me to say how very sorry I am about what is a very upsetting and disruptive situation for us all.

Matt Clarke
Editor-in-Chief

To unsubscribe from future emails click here: http/links.specialist.bauermedia.co.uk/ui/modules/display/optOut.jsp?&m=34464804&r=Mzg0NjA3MDA3OQS2&j=NjE5MTA4MzYS1&mt=1&rt=0

Bauer Consumer Media Limited
Registered number / 01176085 (England)
Registered Office / 21 Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2DY

 

[jennybugs]

I see the forum's offline at the moment

 

[jmkgreen]

What I have not heard is what data may have been breached. The email they sent infers magazine subscription data has been compromised. I certainly don't recall typing my address into their web site as part of forum sign-up for example.

Does anyone know if the breach was limited to this one magazine or the publisher (which is massive by comparison)?

 

[aaronnorth]

I'll post this info from the UKAPS site as it may be helpful.

Poated by "RoughIt"

I'll give everybody instructions to find the info.
Find the link in REEFSCAPES post on another forum.(which will bring up a Google page).
Copy and paste the p******n.ca/(some numbers) into your browser bar.
Add 'tree' before the numbers.(no spaces)
Pressing enter takes you to the paste site.
Find the 'View Differences' button and click on it.
SPAM entry and list will now appear.
Keep an eye on the 'Recent posts' on the left.
All entries so far have been titled 'Stuff'.

 

[Tolak]

The info that has been taken is member names with associated e-mail address & password to PFK. If that password is common to any other account, such as forums and especially e-mail accounts it would be wise to change those account's passwords.

Many people use the same password for multiple accounts.

 

[jmkgreen]

Tolak: Is that based on more recent information than the original email? I ask as they clearly stated member's addresses and telephone numbers may have been breached.

Now it may be that the forum allows such details to be recorded and that is what they are referring to, otherwise it's got to be data from their subscribers database itself.

 

[voo]

Now it may be that the forum allows such details to be recorded and that is what they are referring to, otherwise it's got to be data from their subscribers database itself.

The website for subscriptions is totally separate from pfk - different hosting.

 

[OldMan47]

We have seen the evidence that they have indeed been hacked to the tune of several thousand individual IDs. If you use that forum as well as this one, it would be best to change your password to something different than what you use there on each other forum you use. I am also a member there and did not get the notice, but have seen the evidence that they were hacked, and it is convincing. I have gone to every other place that my password for that forum was used and have changed my password to another one that I can remember easily. Even though my name was not on the list that I saw, my personal interest in my own identity being safeguarded led me to take action. The PFK website has already been compromised so there was no way I would go there and reveal my new logon ID and password to be hacked again. Why hand the hackers the key to my new security after all?

 

[jasminekiddell]

i also use that website, and use that password on PFK that i use for several other websites and accounts! Will have to change them all! i got a notification about it and i'm quite sad about it. i used the forum daily and its helped me so much. when i typed into google this morning 'coldwater fish forums' the linkw asnt there like usual which makes me wonder if its been shut down, for good.

 

[aaronnorth]

i also use that website, and use that password on PFK that i use for several other websites and accounts! Will have to change them all! i got a notification about it and i'm quite sad about it. i used the forum daily and its helped me so much. when i typed into google this morning 'coldwater fish forums' the linkw asnt there like usual which makes me wonder if its been shut down, for good.

It wont be shut down for good, the company is too big to make a move like that.
They will be rebuilding it and more than likly be changing the method of security they use.