data breach
KitchenPal is a widely used kitchen management application designed to help users with meal planning, grocery shopping, and managing kitchen inventories. It also offers smart recipe suggestions based on the ingredients available in a user's kitchen. With a user-friendly interface, the app has become popular among home cooks and culinary enthusiasts who value efficient kitchen management. However, this convenience has now been overshadowed by a significant data breach, raising concerns about the app's security measures.
Breach Details
In November 2023, KitchenPal experienced a significant data breach that exposed over 146,000 lines of user data. The incident, which surfaced in December 2023, was publicized by the infamous hacker and BreachForums operative known as IntelBroker. The data was made available for download on a prominent hacker forum, further exacerbating the potential risks for affected users.
The compromised data includes:
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Genders
- Geographic locations
- Names
- Passwords (bcrypt password hashes)
- Physical attributes such as height and weight
- Social media profile identifiers
While KitchenPal claimed that the exposed data originated from a staging environment and included some incomplete or unusable information, the sheer volume of compromised records—nearly 100,000 email addresses alone—makes this breach particularly concerning.
Threat Actor Profile
The individual behind the leak, known as IntelBroker, is a well-known figure in the cybercriminal community. Operating within the notorious BreachForums, IntelBroker has been linked to several high-profile data breaches, often targeting companies with significant user bases and valuable data. This latest leak continues IntelBroker's pattern of exposing sensitive information to the public, with little regard for the consequences faced by the affected individuals or organizations.
Impact Analysis
The breach of KitchenPal’s data presents several risks to the affected users, including:
- Identity Theft: With personal details like dates of birth, email addresses, and physical attributes exposed, users could be at risk of identity theft or social engineering attacks.
- Account Compromise: Although the passwords were hashed using bcrypt, a strong cryptographic function, the risk remains if users reused the same password across multiple platforms.
- Phishing Attacks: The exposure of email addresses increases the likelihood of phishing attempts, where attackers could deceive users into divulging further personal information or financial details.
- Reputational Damage: For KitchenPal, this breach not only damages its reputation but also raises questions about its ability to protect user data in the future. Users may lose trust in the app, leading to a decline in its user base.