Hackers Get Access To 33 Million Authy-Linked Phone Numbers Due To Security Breach; Here Are Some Preventive Measures For the Authy Users

Twilio’s Authy is an app that offers two-factor authentication (2FA), allowing users to keep their online accounts secure. Authy generates 2FA codes that refresh every 20 seconds and are stored on the cloud. The app is free to use and works across platforms, including Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Back in 2022,  Twilio revealed that threat actors had gained access to 75 million users’ information that also including 93 Authy users. According to the company, this happened due to a security breach. Well now after two years, a new security breach has been reported by the company as per the threat actors now have access to 33 million Authy-Linked phone numbers.

As per Twilio’s news release, it “detected that threat actors were able to identify data associated with Authy accounts, including phone numbers, due to an unauthenticated endpoint.” It was revealed that the culprit here was an unsecured API endpoint that allowed the actors to verify and collect numbers linked to Authy.

Bleeping Computer has shared a screenshot in their recent report which suggests that a threat actor named ShinyHunters has been linked to the breach as they leaked a file containing over 33 million Authy-linked phone numbers

Here Are Some Preventive Measures For Existing Authy Users

Since the hackers are said to have access to these phone numbers, there are chances that the users can be targeted with SMS phishing attacks or attempt a SIM swap. SIM Swap is a method where a threat actor convinces your carrier to transfer your phone number to a different SIM card while impersonating a particular user.

In order to prevent themselves from this illegal SIM swapping, user can lock their SIM behind a passcode that they must enter every time they restart their device or lock their phone number directly via their service provider.

If you think your information might be among the 33 million leaked numbers, be cautious against suspicious messages, and ensure your social media, banking or other sensitive apps are 2FA secured. Users are also advised to update the Authy app.