Just think that you're settling in to relax, you open Plex to enjoy a movie night, and a notice appears: "Reset Your Password". Annoying, right? Plex didn’t just “remind” you about this for no reason. Sadly, it has confirmed another data breach and now every user needs to take action.
Encryption isn't perfectly safe because passwords can be cracked — they want all users to reset their passwords — it's basically changing your locks on your house when you think you've lost your keys — you don't want to take the risk.
• Change your password right away. Do not wait until later.
• Make it a strong, unique one. Use numbers and special characters and do not use an old password.
• Log out of all devices. Once you reset, Plex gives you that option to log everything out. Take it.
• If you logged in through Google or Apple, manually log out from the security settings on all your devices.
• Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA). That extra step makes it much harder for someone to break in.
Bonus tip: If you reuse passwords (and I think we can all admit that most people tend to do this), consider changing them on other accounts as well. A leak in one place can unlock all your other logins.
I've gone through that mess once before, and resetting an account can't compare to resetting five or six accounts at once.
What Actually Happened?
Plex stated that a hacker broke into one or more of their databases. Fortunately, the hacker didn't interact with payment information (yet), but it seems they hacked user emails, usernames, and encrypted passwords.Encryption isn't perfectly safe because passwords can be cracked — they want all users to reset their passwords — it's basically changing your locks on your house when you think you've lost your keys — you don't want to take the risk.
What You Should Do Now
Here is a quick checklist to be safe:• Change your password right away. Do not wait until later.
• Make it a strong, unique one. Use numbers and special characters and do not use an old password.
• Log out of all devices. Once you reset, Plex gives you that option to log everything out. Take it.
• If you logged in through Google or Apple, manually log out from the security settings on all your devices.
• Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA). That extra step makes it much harder for someone to break in.
Bonus tip: If you reuse passwords (and I think we can all admit that most people tend to do this), consider changing them on other accounts as well. A leak in one place can unlock all your other logins.
How Plex Is Handling It
They indicated that they've already patched the exploit that hackers utilized to get to the data and they are doing a more thorough review of their system now. This isn't Plex's first rodeo with a breach, but at least they responded promptly and advised users to lock things down.Why You Should Care
Maybe you're thinking, "It's just Plex, who cares?" But think about how many accounts you secure with the same password. If hackers have cracked your Plex password, and it happens to be the same as your email or shopping account, you've got issues.I've gone through that mess once before, and resetting an account can't compare to resetting five or six accounts at once.
