A cyber attack occurred on Tea, a dating app designed for women, resulting in the leak of 72,000 photos. The company has appointed security experts and claims to be strengthening data protection.
Cyber Attack: In the digital age, where online dating apps are rapidly gaining popularity, serious cyber security threats are also emerging. Recently, a major cyber attack has been confirmed on Tea, a special dating app created for women. In this attack, hackers gained unauthorized access to approximately 72,000 women's photos, raising serious questions about user data protection.
What Happened in the Hack?
According to a Tea spokesperson, the company identified "unauthorized access" to its systems. The data that hackers accessed includes:
- 13,000 selfies and photo IDs submitted by users during account verification.
- 59,000 other photos taken from posts, comments, and direct messages.
However, the company states that email addresses and phone numbers were not leaked. It has also been clarified that only women who were associated with the app before February 2024 were affected by this breach.
What is the Tea App and Why is it Special?
Tea is not just any dating app. It is specifically designed to ensure women's safety and to share dating experiences. Its slogan is: 'Women should never compromise their safety in dating.' On this platform, women can anonymously share their dating experiences, much like people write restaurant reviews on Yelp. To sign up on the app, women have to go through a verification process. This involves uploading a selfie, which the company claims is deleted after review.
What Steps Has the Company Taken?
Tea has taken several steps immediately after this cyber attack:
- Third-party cyber security experts have been appointed.
- 24x7 monitoring has been initiated to strengthen system security.
- Affected users are being alerted via email and notifications.
The company also stated, 'The safety of our users is our top priority. Following this incident, we are further strengthening our security protocols.'
Growing Popularity and Scale of the Threat
Tea app recently claimed on Instagram that more than 2 million women have sent requests to join it. This rapidly increasing popularity has also attracted cyber criminals. It is clear that the more data, the greater the risk.
Necessary Precautions for Users
If you are using Tea or any other dating app, it is important to take these steps:
- Use a b password and change it regularly.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible.
- Carefully read the app's privacy policy before uploading sensitive photos or documents.
- Do not click on suspicious links or messages.
Is the Risk of Cyber Attacks Increasing?
Technical experts believe that dating and social networking platforms are becoming easy targets for hackers.
- These apps contain a large amount of personal data.
- Sensitive information such as photos and chats can be misused.
- If companies' security layers are weak, this risk increases further.
