Disney+ has been getting a lot of backlash since they released their streaming service on November 12. The release came with a lot of excitement, but very quickly users noticed their accounts were being hacked and passwords and usernames were being sold on the dark web. This service received ten million subscribers on its opening day and tracking company, Apptopia, estimated the service was downloaded over three million times over 24 hours.
The new release of Frozen 2 also drew a lot of attention to Disney+. This sequel brought in $223 million, breaking box office records for the highest-grossing movie for an animated film. It will be on this streaming service as soon as it leaves theaters. The release of Disney+ helped increase Walt Disney’s shares by two per cent and in-app purchases raised to five million in the first 13 days. Disney+ hasn’t said how many users have been affected by hackers, but they say that there is no security breach.
Mike Martin is a professor at Seneca College and he works in the Computer Science department. His the program specializes in computer hacking. Martin says Disney+ could have taken extra precautions to help ensure users get the best security protection, “Something that a lot of online businesses could do is something called multi-factor authentication.” This system sends codes to the users email when the account is accessed from a different or new device, something Disney+ hasn’t adopted but they do send an email if users need to change their account password. Martin says they need to do much more.
Jashveer Daboo says he’s all for that.
Another common habit that people tend to do is share usernames and passwords. Usually people do this because the other person doesn’t want to pay for an account since Disney+ charges $8.99 per month. Martin says, “It broadens the footprint, the password should be stored in a safe place and if you’re sharing it, it’s not a secure place.” He also says users pick weak passwords and they also reuse them for other accounts which makes their accounts more vulnerable to hacking.
There is also a way to check your username and password to see if you have been hacked. Martin says, “You can go to a site called haveibeenpwned, which will tell you if you’re passwords have shown up on these various places where they get sold on places like the dark web.” This website is easy to use. You type in your email address and the website will tell you if your account has been breached. It also lists the amount of “pwned” websites and accounts.
Cable has also been losing viewers as streaming services become more popular. AT&T, Comcast, Dish, Verizon, Charter and Altice USA are known to have lost eight million subscribers over a two-year time span. The price for cable is constantly rising causing people to be less attracted and more engaged to streaming services that cost less. That doesn’t always mean these services have a more enhanced security system. For more about a stay-at-home mom and her thoughts about how streaming sites have impacted her use of cable click the link below.
As a reminder to online users, Martin says be careful with logins especially if you have used them for different websites.
Written By: Brittney Balment.
Audio Team: Max Krainii and Melissa Mihalis.
Video Team: David Dennis, Emma Laurignano and Kevin Diep.
Executive Producer: Frankie Fiorini.
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