Dropbox claims password 'leaks' not due to hack

Dropbox has assured users it has not been hacked, despite the recent leaking of hundreds of usernames and passwords on text-sharing site Pastebin.

The alleged user details have been posted within three documents on the anonymous website, and the person behind the account in question claims to have hacked into around seven million accounts through a third-party service in order to retrieve and share the data.

To fund their efforts, the hacker' has asked for Bitcoin donations.

"We will keep releasing more to the public as donations come in, show your support," the user wrote on Pastebin.

As reported by The Next Web, a number of the examples posted had already expired: "Dropbox has not been hacked," the company told the site.

Further responding to the incident, a spokesperson for Dropbox said: "These usernames and passwords were unfortunately stolen from other services and used in attempts to log in to Dropbox accounts.

"We'd previously detected these attacks, and the vast majority of the passwords posted have been expired for some time now. All other remaining passwords have been expired as well."

Dropbox assured worried users that it resets passwords on accounts thought to be affected by suspicious activity,' and did so a number of months ago.

Edward Snowden recently urged security-conscious users to steer clear of services such as Dropbox, after previously calling it "hostile to privacy."