On Wednesday, Aug. 24, American media platform Plex alerted its customers via email about a security breach and advised them to change their passwords immediately.
The company wrote in the email that the security breach had compromised its customers' account information, including their email addresses, usernames, and passwords.
Plex Suffers Security Breach
Plex is one of the largest media server apps in the US and is used by more than 20 million people to stream video, audio, and photos that they've uploaded. The platform also has a variety of content that is available to paid subscribers.
According to Engadget, Plex discovered suspicious activity on one of its databases. The company immediately began an investigation, and it appeared that a third party was able to access a limited subset of data that included usernames, emails, and passwords of its customers.
However, according to Android Authority, Plex did not reveal if other personal account information had been compromised.
There is also no mention of private media libraries accessed in the security breach.
The company reassures customers that its system secured all account passwords that the hackers could have accessed.
Financial information is also safe despite the security breach. In the email, Plex wrote that it does not store credit card information and other payment data on the company's servers.
Plex also identified the cause of the security breach, and the company has taken action to prevent others from taking advantage of the security flaw.
The company revealed in the email that it is doing additional reviews to ensure that the security of all its systems is further hardened to prevent future incursions.
What to Do If You Have a Plex Account
If you have a Plex account, you should take the necessary steps to secure it immediately, following the instructions provided by the company.
You should also enable 2-factor authentication if you have not set it up yet. Plex puts the 2-factor authentication option under your account page.
Also, it would help if you were using either a free or paid password manager so you can manage unique passwords and 2-factor authentication codes across all your apps, services, and sites.
Web browsers like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Safari have decent built-in options, though dedicated services are also available via Bitwarden, 1Password, and Lastpass.
Some password managers will alert you to passwords that have been breached and autofill passwords when prompted by apps and websites on your smartphones and desktop.
Launch of Discover Together
In early August, Plex ventured into a new area by launching a new feature called Discover Together. The feature is laying the groundwork to develop the company as not just a streaming hub but a streaming community, according to TechCrunch.
Initially, this includes the ability to add friends and see their activities like what they're watching, bookmarking, and how they are rating shows and movies.
Over time, Plex plans to leverage community engagement to help boost its recommendations and allow streamers to engage in discussions around their favorite content.
Related Article: Plex Launches Live TV For Cable Cutters
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
