Netflix password at risk? New report says millions of accounts hacked
When was the last time you changed your Netflix account password or replaced your credentials for Disney+ or Amazon Prime video? Perhaps it is time to revisit the privacy's page to make these changes.
In a recent report, Kaspersky, the global cybersecurity and anti-virus company, said that it identified over seven million compromised accounts belonging to various popular streaming services.
"These weren't stolen directly from the platforms themselves but were collected as part of broader credential theft campaign s," the company clarified though.
The Moscow-based company's Digital Footprint Intelligence team uncovered a total of 7,035,236 breaching cases in 2024.
Among those there are 5,632,694 compromised Netflix accounts. Brazil had the highest number of exposed Netflix credentials, followed by Mexico and India, the report went on to say.
Netflix Mena did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by Khaleej Times. As of December 2024, Netflix had approximately three million subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa region.
As for Disney+, experts detected 680,850 Disney+ accounts in leaked datasets and Brazil again topped the list of affected countries, followed by Mexico and Germany.
Subscribers of Amazon Prime Video also fell victim to this hacking scheme, though smaller in volume with 1,607 compromised accounts. The top three countries with compromised accounts on the streaming service were Mexico, Brazil, and France.
"As streaming platforms, fandom culture, and social media become deeply woven into Gen-Z's everyday experience, cyberthreats are adapting to target the spaces they trust most", Kaspersky said.
Kaspersky safety tips
If you feel your account has been compromised, change passwords for the potentially compromised credentials and ensure there has been no suspicious activity associated with these accounts.
Always use a legitimate, paid subscription when accessing streaming services and ensure you're using apps from official marketplaces or the official websites.
Stick to trusted, official pages when watching or downloading content and double-check URLs and company name spellings to avoid phishing sites.
Be cautious about the file extensions you're downloading. Video files should not have .exe or .msi extensions — these are typically associated with harmful programs.
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