Adobe said the passwords taken in its 2013 breach were encrypted with Triple DES, not stored as password hashes. The compromised store was a backup system slated for decommissioning. Adobe told regulators that a newer, salted SHA-256 authentication system was not the system attackers accessed.
Were Adobe passwords encrypted or hashed?
The passwords in the compromised backup database were encrypted using Triple DES, according to Adobe’s later clarification. That is different from hashing: encryption is designed to be reversible with the relevant key, while a password hash is a one-way transformation used to verify a password without storing it in recoverable form.
In its investigation report, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) records Adobe’s explanation that the affected backup system used an apparent shared key. The same report says Adobe had used a newer authentication system for more than a year that hashed passwords with SHA-256, salting and more than 1,000 iterations. Adobe said that newer system was not involved in the October 2013 disclosure. Read the OAIC investigation report.
So the precise answer is not that Adobe stored every password this way: the compromised backup store used reversible encryption, while Adobe said its newer authentication system used salted, iterated hashes.
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What happened in the Adobe data breach?
On October 3, 2013, Adobe announced that its investigation indicated attackers had accessed customer IDs and encrypted passwords. The company also said it believed information relating to 2.9 million customers had been removed, including names, encrypted credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates and order-related information. That was Adobe’s initial company estimate and description, not a final count of every credential record. Adobe’s October 3, 2013 announcement.
On November 4, CSO Online quoted Adobe spokesperson Heather Edell clarifying that the attacked system was a backup system designated for decommissioning. Edell said: “The system involved in the attack used Triple DES encryption to protect all password information stored.” CSO Online’s November 4, 2013 report.
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The OAIC later documented another important weakness: password hints were stored in plaintext. It said the encryption method and those hints enabled security experts with access to the database to identify common passwords and associated accounts. Encryption did not make the stolen data harmless.
Were my Adobe password and credit card details stolen?
The 2013 announcement said attackers accessed customer IDs and encrypted passwords, and that information relating to 2.9 million customers had been removed, including encrypted payment-card data and order-related information. That figure and scope reflect Adobe’s initial announcement; they do not establish that every Adobe customer’s card details or every credential record was taken.
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Other investigations examined particular jurisdictions and data categories. The Canadian Privacy Commissioner’s report, for example, discussed potentially affected usernames, encrypted passwords, plaintext hints, contact information and encrypted card numbers. Its findings concern its own inquiry and should not be treated as a replacement for Adobe’s global estimate. Canadian Privacy Commissioner, PIPEDA Report of Findings #2014-015.
The available historical announcements cannot determine from this article whether a particular person’s account or payment information was included. Adobe said it was resetting relevant passwords at the time and advised affected customers to change reused passwords elsewhere.
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What should I do if you reused your Adobe password?
If you still use the same password on another account, change it there to a unique password. Adobe’s 2013 notice explicitly advised customers to change passwords reused on other websites. Do not rely on changing only the Adobe password to protect accounts where the old password remains valid.
The notice describes actions taken and recommended in 2013; it does not establish a current Adobe recovery process or current password-storage method.
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What the OAIC concluded
The OAIC found that Adobe breached the applicable Australian privacy principle by failing to take reasonable steps to protect all the personal information it held. This was a finding under Australian privacy law in that regulator’s investigation, not a universal legal conclusion about the incident.
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