A massive security breach from the Tea dating application has potentially impacted 33,000 women. Hackers allegedly leaked personal information online, which also included causes for heavy harassment against women and litigation. The leak shows severe risk to safety and increased needs for data protection.
On October 27th, 2022, the Tea app to share dating advice and experiences faced a major breach. Hackers leaked personal information of 33,000 women that included names, personal addresses, and photos which made its way onto multiple websites and apps. Social media further redistributed the information. The breach raised concerns globally.
The leaked information produced extremely harmful outcomes. Hackers plotted the 33,000 women’s home addresses on maps in Google Maps with thousands of pins with their dot. Google quickly removed those maps because it violated their harassment policies. However, the hackers had the data, and the damage was done. Compacted to the extreme, a nasty online game arose whereby the posters can put onto social media ranked women’s selfies and somehow produced a ranking of the “top” and the “bottom” of 50 women.
Easily, the breach caused a frenzy because multiple websites opened back up forums. 4Chan had an explosion of activity and 12,000 featured mentions of Tea in three weeks. The incident created opportunities for various cause groups such as those that are misogynistic to boast about holding women accountable, deriving a great deal of excitement from being able to find targeted women.
For too many women, multiple posts on X and TikTok would lead to everything beyond mockery to harassment of the victims that occur as a result of the breach.
More than 10 women have presented to file a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit menu’s Tea’s parent company for negligence and the company’s failure to protect data. This clearly put women at risk for harassment. The victims of the breach want justice, and accountability. This case demonstrates that proper safety protections were insufficiently provided.
Tea had already raised criticism before the breach. Reports indicated that Tea was “station stalking” individuals by infiltrating Facebook groups. Reports claimed that Tea was even pretending to be women in order to monitor men. This led to backlash. Tea’s ethicality has come under question. The breach now raises the louder calls for accountability. Faith in this app has plunged.
The leak clearly shows tangible threats to women. They were not simply given a date of birth and a first and last name. Addresses have become exposed, which raises the concerns of stalking; one woman expressed concern that her ex could find her because of the breach. This breach clearly did in fact compromise personal safety.
The leak clearly showcased a lack of sufficient means of online education and protection to women. Women already face high risks associated with any subsequent sealing or exposure of personal data.
The Tea breach is a clear warning to other apps. The app did not appreciate or prioritize the ongoing safety of their user. The lack of data protection that all apps provide to users, creates ongoing harm. Companies who design and create apps need to adopt stronger protections around the data of users. This incident is a clear reminder that users require to know they’ve been protected and treated appropriately, and for businesses and apps to take accountability. Usability is not a justification to complete an upholds lawful contracts.
Read the privacy policy of the app. Create strong and user-specific passwords. Stop sharing or displaying, any personally identifiable details. Monitor all electronic accounts for suspicious or unusual activity. Report any unsolicited or suspicious behaviour or correspondence as quickly as possible.
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