Dropbox dismisses hack demonstrated by developers

Two developers have cracked Dropbox’s security, even intercepting SSL data from its servers and bypassing the cloud storage provider’s two-factor authentication, according to a paper they published at USENIX 2013.

“These techniques are generic enough and we believe would aid in future software development, testing, and security research,” the paper says in its abstract.

Dropbox, which claims more than 100 million users upload more than a billion files daily, said the research didn’t actually represent a vulnerability in its servers.

“We appreciate the contributions of these researchers and everyone who helps keep Dropbox safe,” a spokesperson said in an email reply to Computerworld. “In the case outlined here, the user’s computer would first need to have been compromised in such a way that it would leave the entire computer, not just the user’s Dropbox, open to attacks across the board.”