Snapchat 'smoothie hack' spams users (Update: Snapchat recommend 'strong passwords')

Users report that their accounts have been hijacked but Snapchat claims that the attacks are not due to 'brute force' attacks

Healthy 'spam' alternatives include smoothies, according to this latest Snapchat hack

Popular messaging app Snapchat has suffered another security breach, with users reporting that their accounts have been hijacked to send out spam messages to friends.

Users on Twitter have reported receiving pictures of smoothies with a text caption directing them to a website named snapfroot.com, which – when visited by The Independent - redirects to a site selling weight-loss supplements. Web-users are advised not to follow the link.

Wired writer Joe Brown was one of those whose account was hacked, and was told by a Snapchat spokesperson that the problems had been occurring over a few days.

Interestingly, Snapchat are saying that accounts have been compromised not by “brute-force tactics” but from hackers guessing logins “on the first try”. This is presumably due to individuals re-using passwords from other accounts – always a big mistake when it comes to online security.

The company has released an official statement: "Yesterday a small number of our users experienced a spam incident where unwanted photos were sent from their accounts. Our security team deployed additional measures to secure accounts. We recommend using unique and strong passwords to prevent abuse."

The hack is similar to one that affected Instagram users in June and July last year, with the photo-sharing app forced to ask more than 130 million users to reset their passwords after compromised accounts started spamming pictures promoting all-fruit diets and healthy smoothies.

The Instagram incident shows that this type of attack is not a rarity, but in Snapchat’s case the implication is more serious due to past history. The company has already suffered from several high-profile hacking incidents and some experts have accused the app’s makers of not taking its users’ security seriously.

In January this year hackers published data belonging to 4.6 million Snapchat users online, weeks after separate security researchers had reported the vulnerability that allowed the hack to the company. They later blamed the breach on the app's increasing popularity.