Audio streaming platform SoundCloud has confirmed that outages and VPN connection issues over the past few days were caused by a security breach in which threat actors stole a database exposing users' email addresses and profile information. The disclosure follows widespread reports over the past four days from users who were unable to access SoundCloud when connecting via VPN, with attempts resulting in the site displaying 403 "forbidden" errors. In a statement shared with BleepingComputer, SoundCloud said it recently detected unauthorized activity involving an ancillary service dashboard and activated its incident response procedures. SoundCloud acknowledged that a threat actor accessed some of its data but said the exposure was limited in scope. "We understand that a purported threat actor group accessed certain limited data that we hold," SoundCloud told BleepingComputer. "We have completed an investigation into the data that was impacted, and no sensitive data (such as financial or password data) has been accessed. The data involved consisted only of email addresses and information already visible on public SoundCloud profiles." BleepingComputer has learned that the breach affects 20% of SoundCloud’s users, which, based on publicly reported user figures, could impact roughly 28 million accounts. The company said it is confident that all unauthorized access to SoundCloud systems has been blocked and that there is no ongoing risk to the platform. Working with third-party ...
SoundCloud confirms breach after member data stolen, VPN access disrupted
BleepingComputer
·Lawrence Abrams
·Published Dec 16, 2025
·Updated
Affected Software
1 affected component
SoundCloud SoundCloud
Frequently Asked Questions
1
What was the main incident reported in the article?
The article reports that SoundCloud experienced a security breach resulting in the theft of user data, including email addresses and profile information.
2
What caused the disruption in SoundCloud's services?
The disruption in SoundCloud's services, including VPN connection issues, was attributed to the security breach.
3
What type of data was compromised in the SoundCloud breach?
The breach exposed users' email addresses and profile information.
4
How has SoundCloud responded to the breach?
SoundCloud has confirmed the breach and acknowledged the impact on their services and user data.
5
What steps should SoundCloud users take following the breach?
Users should consider changing their passwords and monitoring their accounts for any suspicious activity.