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Gemplex data breach

From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the February 2021 breach of Gemplex. For every breach, see Breaches.

The Gemplex data breach exposed 4,563,166 accounts from gemplex.tv in February 2021. The data taken includes passwords, names, email addresses, phone numbers and device information.[1]

Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 9 Dec 2023, 3 years later. It is the 213th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.

What was exposed

Gemplex’s breach included 5 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.
NamesMakes scam messages personal enough to believe.
Email addressesExpect scam emails that name the company to look genuine.
Phone numbersExpect scam texts and calls, and a higher risk of someone moving your number to their SIM.
Device informationPersonal 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, Gemplex among them, without showing the data.
  2. Change your Gemplex password.If the account still exists, sign in at Gemplex (gemplex.tv) 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 Gemplex.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
  6. Put a PIN on your phone account.Ask your mobile provider for a port-out PIN, so no one can move your number to their SIM.

Timeline

  • : the breach, as best it can be dated.
  • : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, 3 years later.

Breaches often stay hidden for a long time. Until it came out, people in it had no reason to change anything.

Similar breaches

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

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

References

  1. ^ Troy Hunt. “Gemplex”, Have I Been Pwned, added 9 Dec 2023. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.