Snapchat is no stranger to the commitment to security, but the most recent violation was not directed at the millions of users of the application. At the end of February 2016, an email of identity theft was sent to an employee of the payroll department, who claimed to be the CEO of Snapchat, Evan Spiegel. It was a simple human error that the email was finally opened by the payroll employee, who trusted that it was really Spiegel who sent the email. Ultimately, the employee in the payroll department provided the sender of the email with the requested information.

Approximately 700 current and former employee information were released, but Snapchat is being very strict about exactly what leaked. Payroll information can include Social Security numbers, bank information, addresses and other personal information. The phishing scam was detected quickly, according to the statement posted on a Snapchat blog, and was reported to the FBI. The phishing scam did not infiltrate the Snapchat system or compromise any other information.

This follows the attack on Snapchat in January 2014, in which more than four million users posted their information in a database, including usernames and phone numbers. Apparently, the breach occurred due to a hack to the API of the social networking site. Snapchat apologized for the recent violation and has promised to increase its already reinforced security to prevent further incidents from occurring.

Bibliography:
https://www.cyberinsurance.com/breaches/snapchat/