Opera resets users’ passwords after attempted intrusion on servers

Opera has reported that hackers have attempted to break into its servers. Because user data may have been stolen during the attempt, the Norwegian browser builder has reset the passwords of a number of users as a precaution.

Affected users have been notified by email and Opera has detailed what happened on its blog. Earlier this week, traces of a digital intrusion were discovered, which involved an attempt to gain access to Opera’s internal systems. Although the company says it was able to quickly fend off the attack, data may have been stolen from users who created an account for the browser via Opera sync.

Although Opera uses hash and salt for security, the passwords have been reset as a precaution. Users must therefore set a new password to use Opera sync again. This concerns about 1.7 million people, out of a total number of about 350 million people who use the Opera browser.

Opera also apologized for the break-in, but no further information was given about how the digital attackers penetrated. An investigation into the break-in is still ongoing, so more information may be released at a later date.