Merry Christmas, PornHub members. Your viewing habits, download history, and search history stand a fair chance of being published for the world to see.
On Monday, BleepingComputer reported that the website is being extorted by a hacking group called ShinyHunters, which breached the data of a third-party analytics organization, Mixpanel.
PornHub has reportedly not worked with Mixpanel since 2021, so whatever records being held for ransom are from that year or earlier.
Mixpanel had a breach on Nov. 8, but they don’t believe the data now being held by ShinyHunters originated from that occurrence.
“Mixpanel is aware of reports that Pornhub has been extorted with data that that was allegedly stolen from us,” the provider told BleepingComputer. “We can find no indication that this data was stolen from Mixpanel during our November 2025 security Incident or otherwise.
“The data was last accessed by a legitimate employee account at Pornhub’s parent company in 2023. If this data is in the hands of an unauthorized party, we do not believe that is the result of a security incident at Mixpanel.”
PornHub made its own statement on Friday, saying, “A recent cybersecurity incident involving Mixpanel, a third-party data analytics provider, has impacted some Pornhub Premium users.
“Specifically, this situation affects only select Premium users. It is important to note this was not a breach of Pornhub Premium’s systems. Passwords, payment details, and financial information remain secure and were not exposed.”
ShinyHunters reportedly began emailing Mixpanel customers last week, threatening to release data if the ransom was not paid.
ShinyHunters confirmed to BleepingComputer they were responsible for the breach, claiming it seized 201,211,943 records of search, watch, and download activity for PornHub’s premium users.
Is this divine justice for engaging in a sinful, lustful habit currently plaguing society?
That’s hard to say, but the case is a reminder that righteousness is a shield. Extorting someone is nothing to cheer about, and privacy should be valued highly in any free country, but in this instance, only the wicked need to fear what’s happening.
The universe bends to God’s design. Sin finds itself in the company of more sin. The lustful are in company with the greedy.
In terms of its societal impacts, porn’s harm cannot be overstated. The average age of exposure to pornography is 12, according to Psychology Today. No child should see the warped, cruel, deviant, and unrealistic acts unfolding on any of these websites.
Time Magazine reported that porn use increases the likelihood of divorce.
It harms children and it breaks apart families because it is a portal to sin.
Although what ShinyHunters is doing should be condemned, maybe it will give someone going down this path enough of a fright to walk away from this addiction.
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