Pornhub Hacked?

The hacking group ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for breaching one of the world’s largest adult websites, Pornhub, and stealing premium user data. The attackers have already published a fragment of the stolen database and are demanding a ransom in Bitcoin in exchange for not releasing the full dataset.

The incident was reported by Reuters, which received data samples from the hackers. Journalists confirmed the authenticity of part of the information. At least three former Pornhub Premium customers — two men from Canada and one from the U.S. — confirmed to Reuters that the data indeed belonged to them, though it dates back several years. All spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.

“We are demanding a ransom payment in Bitcoin to prevent the publication of Pornhub data and to delete it,” ShinyHunters told Reuters in an online chat.

As of publication, neither Pornhub nor its corporate owner, Ottawa-based Ethical Capital Partners, had responded to media inquiries. The breach was also previously reported by cybersecurity news outlet Bleeping Computer.

Pornhub remains one of the most visited websites in the world, claiming more than 100 million daily visits and roughly 36 billion annual visits. Most content is available for free, but premium subscriptions offer high-definition videos, ad-free viewing, and access to VR content.

According to ShinyHunters, they obtained data on premium users. The hackers provided Reuters with information allegedly related to 14 paid service users. The agency was able to match data for six individuals with information from previous leaks preserved by District 4 Labs, a dark web intelligence firm. Three of these confirmed that they had previously subscribed to Pornhub Premium.

How the attackers gained access to the data remains unclear. ShinyHunters refused to disclose technical details of the breach.

Complicating matters, on December 12, Pornhub had already reported a recent cybersecurity incident involving a third party, analytics service Mixpanel. The company stated that the incident involved a “limited set of analytics events” and an unspecified number of Pornhub Premium users. Mixpanel confirmed that a security incident occurred on November 27,

but denied any connection to the Pornhub data leak. In a statement to Reuters, the company said that its investigation with external cybersecurity experts found no evidence that Pornhub data was compromised in the November incident. According to them, the last access to Pornhub data in Mixpanel was in 2023 using a “legitimate employee account from Pornhub’s parent company.”

Despite this, ShinyHunters claim the stolen data is directly related to the Mixpanel incident. Mixpanel rejected this version, stating that Pornhub was not among the clients affected by the November breach.

ShinyHunters is a well-known cybercriminal group. In recent months, it has been linked to several high-profile attacks and extortion attempts, including breaches of Salesforce customer data and luxury retailers in the UK. Typically, the group’s scheme is standard: data theft, publication of part of the information as proof, and ransom demand, usually in Bitcoin.

Cybersecurity experts note that adult site data leaks are particularly sensitive due to reputational risks for users, making such attacks an effective tool for pressure and extortion.

At present, it is unknown whether Pornhub owners intend to negotiate with the hackers or pay the ransom. It is also unclear how much data has actually fallen into the hands of attackers and whether it involves thousands or millions of accounts. The situation continues to develop.