Quora has logged out all its users following unauthorized access to one of their systems by a malicious third party. In a statement the question-and-answer website stated that the data of their 100 million strong user base has been "compromised" after the breach.
The website, in a blog post, stated that they are working on bettering the situation and to also prevent similar occurances.
"We are working rapidly to investigate the situation further and take the appropriate steps to prevent such incidents in the future," read the post.
While apologising for any inconvinience caused to users, Quora further detailed steps being taken to combat the situation and also added that the root cause for it has been identified.
"We believe we've identified the root cause and taken steps to address the issue, although our investigation is ongoing and we'll continue to make security improvements."
Account information, public content and actions, along with non-public content and actions were affected by the malicious activity. However, questions and answers that were written anonymously were not affected.
Also Read
"If you were affected, we will update you with relevant details via email," Quora told users.
In conclusion, the website stated that they have "failed to meet their responsibility" of ensuring that such incidents do not take place.
"It is our responsibility to make sure things like this don't happen, and we failed to meet that responsibility. We recognize that in order to maintain user trust, we need to work very hard to make sure this does not happen again," it said.
The company, in closing, stated that they hoped of improvement in the situation.
"There's little hope of sharing and growing the world's knowledge if those doing so cannot feel safe and secure, and cannot trust that their information will remain private. We are continuing to work very hard to remedy the situation, and we hope over time to prove that we are worthy of your trust.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content