DLH.net data breach

From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the July 2016 breach of DLH.net. For every breach, see Breaches.

The DLH.net data breach exposed 3,264,710 accounts from dlh.net in July 2016. The data taken includes passwords, usernames, dates of birth and names and 2 more kinds of data.[1]

Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 7 Sep 2016, 1 month later. It is the 253rd largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.

What was exposed

DLH.net’s breach included 6 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:

DataWhat it’s used for
PasswordsCriminals try leaked passwords on email, banking and shopping sites, because people reuse them.
UsernamesHalf of a login. With a reused password, it opens other accounts.
Dates of birthUsed to prove who you are to banks and phone companies.
NamesMakes scam messages personal enough to believe.
Email addressesExpect scam emails that name the company to look genuine.
Website activityPersonal details that make scam messages more convincing.

What to do

  1. Check whether you’re in it.Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned. It tells you which breaches it appears in, DLH.net among them, without showing the data.
  2. Change your DLH.net password.If the account still exists, sign in at DLH.net (dlh.net) and change it.
  3. Change it anywhere you used the same one.Start with your email, then banking and shopping. Leaked passwords are tried on other sites automatically, within days.
  4. Use a password manager and two-step sign-in.A different password for every site means one breach can’t open the rest. Two-step sign-in stops a leaked password working on its own.
  5. Distrust messages that mention DLH.net.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.

Timeline

  • : the breach, as best it can be dated.
  • : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, 1 month later.

Similar breaches

Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:

  • 500px, July 2018, 15 million accounts
  • Pluto TV, October 2018, 3.2 million accounts
  • Neopets, May 2013, 27 million accounts
  • TaiLieu, November 2019, 7.3 million accounts
  • ClixSense, September 2016, 2.4 million accounts
  • AlpineReplay, August 2019, 898,681 accounts

See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.

References

  1. ^ Troy Hunt. “DLH.net”, Have I Been Pwned, added 7 Sep 2016. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.