What happened in the Duolingo data breach?
Twingate Team
•
Feb 8, 2024
Duolingo, the popular language-learning platform, faced a data breach where the personal details of its users were compromised. This incident involved the unauthorized scraping of user data, which was then released on a hacking forum. This breach highlighted the potential vulnerabilities even in platforms dedicated to educational services, underscoring the widespread risk of data privacy breaches online.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach affected approximately 2,676,696 million users.
What type of data was leaked?
The leaked data were email addresses, names, spoken languages, and usernames.
How was Duolingo hacked?
The Duolingo data was compromised through unauthorized scraping rather than a direct hack into the company’s systems. Data scraping is a method where automated bots collect publicly accessible information or exploit weaknesses in web services to gather data at scale. This incident points to web platforms' challenges in protecting user data from such extraction methods.
Duolingo’s response
In response to the data scraping incident, Duolingo took steps to enhance its security measures to prevent similar breaches in the future. The company likely investigated the breach to understand how the data was accessed and to implement strategies to mitigate such vulnerabilities. Duolingo also aimed to communicate with its users about the breach and the measures taken to safeguard their data.
How do I know if I was affected?
Duolingo has not provided a specific tool for users to check if their data was involved in the breach. However, users concerned about their information should Input their details into HaveIBeenPwned.com to check if this data breach or any others have impacted them.
What should affected users do?
In general, users potentially impacted should consider the following steps to protect their personal information:
Change Your Duolingo Password: It's a good practice to update your password with a strong, unique one, especially after a breach.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): If available, enabling 2FA on your Duolingo account can provide an additional security layer.
Watch for Phishing Attempts: Be cautious of emails or messages that ask for personal information or direct you to suspicious websites claiming to be from Duolingo.
Monitor Your Email Address: Since email addresses were part of the scraped data, remain vigilant for spam or phishing emails targeting that address.
For specific help, reach out to Duolingo’s support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
For more information on the Duolingo data breach, please refer to the following sources:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Duolingo data breach?
Twingate Team
•
Feb 8, 2024
Duolingo, the popular language-learning platform, faced a data breach where the personal details of its users were compromised. This incident involved the unauthorized scraping of user data, which was then released on a hacking forum. This breach highlighted the potential vulnerabilities even in platforms dedicated to educational services, underscoring the widespread risk of data privacy breaches online.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach affected approximately 2,676,696 million users.
What type of data was leaked?
The leaked data were email addresses, names, spoken languages, and usernames.
How was Duolingo hacked?
The Duolingo data was compromised through unauthorized scraping rather than a direct hack into the company’s systems. Data scraping is a method where automated bots collect publicly accessible information or exploit weaknesses in web services to gather data at scale. This incident points to web platforms' challenges in protecting user data from such extraction methods.
Duolingo’s response
In response to the data scraping incident, Duolingo took steps to enhance its security measures to prevent similar breaches in the future. The company likely investigated the breach to understand how the data was accessed and to implement strategies to mitigate such vulnerabilities. Duolingo also aimed to communicate with its users about the breach and the measures taken to safeguard their data.
How do I know if I was affected?
Duolingo has not provided a specific tool for users to check if their data was involved in the breach. However, users concerned about their information should Input their details into HaveIBeenPwned.com to check if this data breach or any others have impacted them.
What should affected users do?
In general, users potentially impacted should consider the following steps to protect their personal information:
Change Your Duolingo Password: It's a good practice to update your password with a strong, unique one, especially after a breach.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): If available, enabling 2FA on your Duolingo account can provide an additional security layer.
Watch for Phishing Attempts: Be cautious of emails or messages that ask for personal information or direct you to suspicious websites claiming to be from Duolingo.
Monitor Your Email Address: Since email addresses were part of the scraped data, remain vigilant for spam or phishing emails targeting that address.
For specific help, reach out to Duolingo’s support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
For more information on the Duolingo data breach, please refer to the following sources:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
What happened in the Duolingo data breach?
Twingate Team
•
Feb 8, 2024
Duolingo, the popular language-learning platform, faced a data breach where the personal details of its users were compromised. This incident involved the unauthorized scraping of user data, which was then released on a hacking forum. This breach highlighted the potential vulnerabilities even in platforms dedicated to educational services, underscoring the widespread risk of data privacy breaches online.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach affected approximately 2,676,696 million users.
What type of data was leaked?
The leaked data were email addresses, names, spoken languages, and usernames.
How was Duolingo hacked?
The Duolingo data was compromised through unauthorized scraping rather than a direct hack into the company’s systems. Data scraping is a method where automated bots collect publicly accessible information or exploit weaknesses in web services to gather data at scale. This incident points to web platforms' challenges in protecting user data from such extraction methods.
Duolingo’s response
In response to the data scraping incident, Duolingo took steps to enhance its security measures to prevent similar breaches in the future. The company likely investigated the breach to understand how the data was accessed and to implement strategies to mitigate such vulnerabilities. Duolingo also aimed to communicate with its users about the breach and the measures taken to safeguard their data.
How do I know if I was affected?
Duolingo has not provided a specific tool for users to check if their data was involved in the breach. However, users concerned about their information should Input their details into HaveIBeenPwned.com to check if this data breach or any others have impacted them.
What should affected users do?
In general, users potentially impacted should consider the following steps to protect their personal information:
Change Your Duolingo Password: It's a good practice to update your password with a strong, unique one, especially after a breach.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): If available, enabling 2FA on your Duolingo account can provide an additional security layer.
Watch for Phishing Attempts: Be cautious of emails or messages that ask for personal information or direct you to suspicious websites claiming to be from Duolingo.
Monitor Your Email Address: Since email addresses were part of the scraped data, remain vigilant for spam or phishing emails targeting that address.
For specific help, reach out to Duolingo’s support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
For more information on the Duolingo data breach, please refer to the following sources: