Yesterday, Flood magazine posted an article that claimed it found a way to access the archives and paywall-protected content on the New Yorker‘s website. The trick was, Flood explained, to obtain an email address of a subscriber and try it as the password, too — unless the user opted to change the default settings, the account could be accessed by entering the email into both the username and password fields.
But this won’t be the case for long. A public relations representative at The New Yorker told The Observer that they are working on a system that would force all users to create a custom password, thereby making it impossible for an impostor to log in simply by repeating the email address. Subscribers who previously stuck to the default option will be unable to access their account until they choose a new password.
On when the bug will be fixed, the representative said “We suspect it will be in the next day or so.”
Also, The New Yorker denied they had received any contact from representatives at Flood magazine. The article that was posted yesterday claimed that Flood had reached out to the publication for a comment.
nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234
