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SoundCloud Data Leak Exposes 29.8 Million Profiles After Extortion Attempt Fails

The public release heightens phishing risk despite SoundCloud stating no passwords or payment data were exposed.

Overview

  • Roughly 29.8 million accounts—about one fifth of SoundCloud's active users—had emails, names, usernames, locations and profile metadata taken.
  • The hacker group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility, attempted to extort the company, then posted the dataset after demands were rebuffed.
  • SoundCloud says passwords and payment information were not compromised, but the compiled data increases the usefulness of targeted scams.
  • The leak is now indexed by Have I Been Pwned, enabling users to check whether their email addresses appear in the dataset.
  • Security guidance urges vigilance for phishing and harassment emails, along with enabling two-factor authentication and using a password manager.