LNKD Linkedin Corp. Class A

FriendFinder Networks Inc. is investigating reports that data from more than 412 million user accounts was stolen from five of the company's online-dating, sex-chat and pornography sites.

The stolen data includes 20 years of customer email addresses and passwords, according to LeakedSource.com, an anonymously run website that sells access to stolen records.

Many of the stolen records are from accounts that are no longer active, LeakedSource said. Others may be duplicates or created by automated programs known as "bots."

LeakedSource said most of the records, 340 million, were taken from AdultFriendFinder.com, which facilitates casual relationships. In February, FriendFinder Networks said AdultFriendFinder had more than 60 million users. Data was also stolen from Penthouse.com, Cams.com, Stripshow.com, and iCams.com, according to LeakedSource.

A spokesman for FriendFinder Networks couldn't confirm LeakedSource's claims, but said via email the company is investigating several reports "regarding potential security vulnerabilities." The company is "in the process of notifying affected users to provide them with information and guidance on how they can protect themselves," the spokesman said.

FriendFinder Networks sold its Penthouse assets to Penthouse Global Media Inc. in February.

"We are aware of the data hack and we are waiting on FriendFinder to give us a detailed account of the scope of the breach and their remedial actions in regard to our data," a Penthouse Global Media spokeswoman said via email.

Penthouse Global Media assumed full control of Penthouse.com in May 2016, and immediately forced all users to change passwords as a security precaution, she said.

The incident echoes last year's hack of AshleyMadison.com, a website built to facilitate extramarital affairs. In that case, a hacker posted names, email addresses and credit-card details of AshleyMadison users, prompting grief and embarrassment among users.

In the FriendFinder case, LeakedSource said it wasn't publishing the stolen data.

It's not clear how or when the data was stolen. In October, an anonymous hacker reported finding a programming flaw onAdultFriendFinder.com. LeakedSource believes that these flaws may have led to the latest compromise.

On Sunday, LeakedSource published "data schemas" of the information it had obtained, showing how it was formatted on FriendFinder's computers.

"Based on the data signatures there is no reason to doubt that it is legitimate, but we have not seen the data," said Alex Holden, whose firm, Hold Security investigates data breaches.

LeakedSource has published more than two billion records since March, including data taken from LinkedIn Corp. and MySpace.com.

This is the second reported hack of AdultFriendFinder.com. Last year, the U.K.'s Channel 4 News reported that it had found a database of 3.9 million of the site's members in an online hacker forum.

Write to Robert McMillan at Robert.Mcmillan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 14, 2016 17:35 ET (22:35 GMT)

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