This Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013 file photo shows Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel in Los Angeles.NEW YORK – Snapchat, the disappearing-message service popular with young people, has been quiet following a security breach that allowed hackers to collect the usernames and phone numbers of some 4.6 million of its users.
Company spokeswoman Mary Ritti said Thursday that the company is assessing the situation, but did not have further comment.
The breach occurred after security experts warned the company at least twice about a vulnerability in its system. Snapchat’s seemingly detached response is causing some security specialists to wonder whether the young company can handle the spotlight that it’s been thrust into over the last year as its service has become enormously popular.
In response to a warning by Gibson Security Dec. 25 –which followed an earlier alert in August– Snapchat said in a blog post last Friday that it had implemented “various safeguards” over the past year that would make it more difficult to steal large sets of phone numbers. Snapchat hasn’t detailed the changes it made.
Even so, regarding Snapchat’s response, Gartner security analyst Avivah Litan said it “doesn’t seem that responsible to be so nonchalant about it.”