File picture illustration of the word 'password' pictured through a magnifying glass on a computer screen, taken in Berlin May 21, 2013. Security experts warn there is little Internet users can do to protect themselves from the recently uncovered "He
File picture illustration of the word 'password' pictured through a magnifying glass on a computer screen, taken in Berlin May 21, 2013. Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski/Files

Dropbox, the famous file-hosting service in Cloud has recently been hacked. In the process, a total of 7 million Dropbox usernames and passwords have reportedly been compromised. Out of the whopping total, 400 username-and-password combinations were leaked to Pastebin, the well-known website where one can store texts online. Interestingly, the hackers responsible for the leak requested for bitcoin donations in order to receive more user/login details. After receiving the amount, the same hacker group released more login information.

On Tuesday, Dropbox announced that the usernames and passwords of its customers have been stolen via other third-party services. The company was quick to point out that a vast majority of the leaked login details had already been expired. Therefore, the exact number of active username and password combinations that were compromised is unknown at this juncture, according to Phone Arena.

Dropbox's official statement says the following, "Dropbox has not been hacked. These usernames and passwords were unfortunately stolen from other services and used in attempts to log in to Dropbox accounts."

"We'd previously detected these attacks and the vast majority of the passwords posted have been expired for some time now. All other remaining passwords have been expired as well," the company added further.

In order to keep the user/login data safe and secure, readers are advised to opt for two-step or two-way authentication for any file-storage services and even email accounts. In specific, the two-step authentication consists of a password in addition to a 6 digit security/authentication code. This code will be sent via the registered phone number each time a user enters the login password. Furthermore, a strong password helps to secure the stored date in cloud storage systems.

In the past couple of months, the number of hacking incidents has surged to a dangerous level. Starting with Apple iCloud hacking that leaked celebrities' nude photos, followed by Snapchat web client leaking 100,000+ explicit pictures including that of teenage pornography. In all these cases, the companies blamed the users and the third-party services for the leaked data. However, it is very clear that the companies that offer storage services do not have a strong scrutiny process in place to thwart the questionable third-party apps/services with access to their platforms, opines Business Insider.

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