Foxit PDF Software Company Suffers Data Breach—Asks Users to Reset Password

If you have an online account with Foxit Software, you need to
reset your account password immediately—as an unknown attacker has
compromised your personal data and log-in credentials.

Foxit Software, a company known for its popular lightweight
Foxit PDF Reader and PhantomPDF applications being used by over 525
million users, today announced a data breach exposing the personal
information of ‘My Account’ service users.

Though for using free versions of any Foxit PDF software doesn’t
require users to sign up with an account, the membership is
mandatory for customers who want to access “software trial
downloads, order histories, product registration information, and
troubleshooting and support information.”

According to a blog
post^[1] published today by
Foxit, unknown third-parties gained unauthorized access to its data
systems recently and accessed its “My Account” registered users’
data, including their email addresses, passwords, users’ names,
phone numbers, company names, and IP addresses.

From the company’s statement, it’s not clear, if the leaked
account passwords are protected with a robust hashing algorithm and
salting mechanism to make it tough for hackers to crack
them.

However, the company assured its users that no payment card
details or other personal identification data of its My Account
users had been accessed since the compromised system doesn’t hold
this data.

Reset Your ‘My Account’ Password Now!

In response to this security incident, Foxit has immediately
invalidated the account passwords for all affected users, requiring
them to reset their passwords to regain access to their online
account on the Foxit Software website.
The company has also launched a digital forensics investigation as
well as notified law enforcement agencies and data protection
authorities of the incident.

Besides this, Foxit Software has also hired a security
management firm to conduct an in-depth analysis of its systems and
strengthen their security in order to protect the company against
future cybersecurity incidents.

Following the password reset, the company has also contacted
affected users via email (as shown above in the screenshot shared by a
user^[2]), providing them with a
link to create a new, strong and unique password for their accounts
to prevent any unauthorized access.

Foxit users have also been recommended to remain vigilant by
being cautious of any suspicious emails asking them to click on the
links or download attachments, and reviewing their account
statements and monitoring their credit reports to avoid identity
theft.