JobStreet data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the March 2012 breach of JobStreet. For every breach, see Breaches.
The JobStreet data breach exposed 3,883,455 accounts from jobstreet.com in March 2012. The data taken includes passwords, usernames, dates of birth and government issued IDs and 8 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 30 Oct 2017, 6 years later. It is the 233rd largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
JobStreet’s breach included 12 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:
| Data | What it’s used for |
|---|---|
| Passwords | Criminals try leaked passwords on email, banking and shopping sites, because people reuse them. |
| Usernames | Half of a login. With a reused password, it opens other accounts. |
| Dates of birth | Used to prove who you are to banks and phone companies. |
| Government issued IDs | Enough to open accounts or take out loans in your name. |
| Names | Makes scam messages personal enough to believe. |
| Physical addresses | Used to prove who you are, and for scam letters and parcels. |
| Email addresses | Expect scam emails that name the company to look genuine. |
| Phone numbers | Expect scam texts and calls, and a higher risk of someone moving your number to their SIM. |
| Genders | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Geographic locations | Roughly where you live. |
| Marital statuses | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Nationalities | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
What to do
- Check whether you’re in it.Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned. It tells you which breaches it appears in, JobStreet among them, without showing the data.
- Change your JobStreet password.If the account still exists, sign in at JobStreet (jobstreet.com) and change it.
- 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.
- 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.
- Distrust messages that mention JobStreet.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
- 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.
- Freeze your credit.In the US, free at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. In Australia, ask Equifax, Experian and illion for a ban. No one can open credit in your name while it’s on.
Timeline
- : the breach, as best it can be dated.
- : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, 6 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:
- Vodafone, November 2013, 56,021 accounts
- Sony, June 2011, 37,103 accounts
- Yam, June 2013, 13 million accounts
- VNG, May 2015, 25 million accounts
- NetGalley, December 2020, 1.4 million accounts
- TrueFire, February 2020, 599,667 accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “JobStreet”, Have I Been Pwned, added 30 Oct 2017. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- jobstreet.com, JobStreet’s website