hackforums.net data breach

What happened

In June 2011, the hacktivist group known as "LulzSec" leaked one final large data breach they titled "50 days of lulz". The compromised data came from sources such as AT&T, Battlefield Heroes and the hackforums.net website. The leaked Hack Forums data included credentials and personal information of nearly 200,000 registered forum users.

What data leaked

• Dates of birth
• Email addresses
• Instant messenger identities
• IP addresses
• Passwords
• Social connections
• Spoken languages
• Time zones
• User website URLs
• Usernames
• Website activity

What to do if you had an account

1. Change the password. Change your password on this service. If you used the same password anywhere else, change it there too: attackers try leaked email and password pairs on other sites automatically. A password manager makes one unique password per site practical.
2. Turn on two-step sign-in. Enable two-factor authentication where the service offers it, preferably with an authenticator app or a passkey. A leaked password alone is then not enough to get in.
3. Expect targeted phishing. Leaked contact details are used to write convincing fake messages that mention the breached company or your real name. Do not click links in unexpected emails or texts about this account; go to the site by typing its address.
4. Guard against identity fraud. Identity documents and dates of birth cannot be changed like a password. Consider a credit freeze or fraud alert where your country offers one, and be wary of anyone who 'verifies' you using those details.

Check your email at haveibeenpwned.com

We do not run email lookups ourselves. The search is done on haveibeenpwned.com, the service this list comes from.