Linux Mint data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the February 2016 breach of Linux Mint. For every breach, see Breaches.
The Linux Mint data breach exposed 144,989 accounts from linuxmint.com in February 2016. The data taken includes passwords, dates of birth, email addresses and avatars and 4 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 22 Feb 2016, within a month. It is the 559th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Linux Mint’s breach included 8 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. |
| Dates of birth | Used to prove who you are to banks and phone companies. |
| Email addresses | Expect scam emails that name the company to look genuine. |
| Avatars | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Geographic locations | Roughly where you live. |
| IP addresses | Roughly where you were when you used the service. |
| Time zones | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Website activity | 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, Linux Mint among them, without showing the data.
- Change your Linux Mint password.If the account still exists, sign in at Linux Mint (linuxmint.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 Linux Mint.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, within a month.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- Funimation, July 2016, 2.5 million accounts
- ClearVoice Surveys, August 2015, 15 million accounts
- ShareThis, July 2018, 41 million accounts
- HauteLook, August 2018, 29 million accounts
- Animoto, July 2018, 22 million accounts
- 500px, July 2018, 15 million accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “Linux Mint”, Have I Been Pwned, added 22 Feb 2016. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- linuxmint.com, Linux Mint’s website