Massive & Unprecedented Security Breach Takes Usenet Providers Offline

guest · Apr 28, 2020

Massive & Unprecedented Security Breach Takes Usenet Providers Offline
April 28, 2020
https://torrentfreak.com/massive-un...breach-takes-usenet-providers-offline-200428/

A massive security breach has taken at least one major Usenet provider offline. UseNext says that a "security hole in a partner company" could have revealed names and bank account information, exposing customers to fraud and identity theft. The precise nature of the breach isn't clear but reports that a Usenet client has been stealing login credentials is being linked to the security disaster.

While most Usenet use flies under the radar these days, huge volumes of data are shared on a daily basis.
In a post on Obload, a web-based German-language Usenet discussion forum, an administrator alerted users to a serious situation involving the Momentum Usenet client, a software tool used to access Usenet. [...] swipes Usenet users’ login credentials and NZB data and uploads it to a site called Newzbee.

The immediate advice was to stop using Momentum and since users have to enter their Usenet providers’ username and password into Momentum to have it work, immediately change their passwords at their Usenet provider.
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However, at the same time and quite unusually, another major development was breaking in the Usenet space.

On Usenet1, a site dedicated to Usenet matters, a post revealed that several major Usenet providers and tool operators were experiencing “massive problems”. They included UseNext, Usenet.nl, Gigaflat, plus HolmeZ.com and Momentum Plus, the latter two sites being directly connected to the Momentum client.
Checking UseNext’s and Usenet.nl’s portals revealed both to be completely offline, which is extremely rare for such high-profile suppliers of Usenet access.

“Unauthorized persons have accessed our infrastructure via a security hole in a partner company. We are currently analyzing what damage may have occurred. For security reasons, all systems are currently offline,” the company said in a statement.
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At the time of writing there is no clear evidence to link the alleged misconduct of the Momentum client with the downtime at major Usenet providers. However, that two serious events have occurred almost simultaneously has set alarm bells ringing

For now, and at least until the makers of the Momentum client issue a statement, the general advice is to stop using the client and consider any Usenet credentials entered into the software as compromised, including the related Usenet provider accounts.
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