Tech

Toms Shoes' Mailing List Hacked to Tell Users to Log Off

"hey you, don't look at a digital screen all day, theres a world out there that you're missing out on."
Log off
Image: Westend61 via Getty Images

Too often, hackers use their skills to steal cash or make someone's day very difficult. But sometimes, hackers just want to send a message. On Sunday, one hacker used the mailing list of retailer TOMS Shoes to tell users it's time to log off.

"hey you, don't look at a digital screen all day, theres a world out there that you're missing out on," the hacker, going by the name Nathan, said in an email sent to TOMS subscribers. "just felt some people need that," they added.

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"I had TOMS hacked for quite a while, but with a busy life and no malicious intent, it was pretty useless to have them hacked," Nathan told Motherboard. "By this point responsible disclosure is not a option. So I thought I my as well send out a message I believe in just for fun. End purpose was to spread my message to a large amount of people."

Nathan wouldn't specify how they broke into the TOMS account, but said it was easy. They also had a message for other hackers who may have other motivations.

"To the hackers who hack large organizations etc for malicious reasons, stop being a criminal. Its beyond fucked up to sell people's private information on the internet. How do you sleep at night knowing you had a negative impact on thousands or maybe millions of peoples lives? It's just so wrong. Also you self proclaimed hackers with nothing to show for it, who are just cyberbullies with the biggest egos. It's not cool," Nathan wrote.

Know about a data breach? We'd love to hear from you. You can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, OTR chat on jfcox@jabber.ccc.de, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.

Instead, Nathan said, be good to all of the people in your life, whether they're a stranger or not.

TOMS confirmed the hack in an emailed statement.

"We are aware of unauthorized activity through our communications channels including email and social media. We are actively looking into the matter. In the meantime, please do not click on any links or reply to it," the statement read.

Of course, this was still a hack, and one that still made someone's day difficult.

Nathan said, "Dear TOMS, sorry for hacking you guys. No hard feelings pls?"

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