NetGalley data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the December 2020 breach of NetGalley. For every breach, see Breaches.
The NetGalley data breach exposed 1,436,435 accounts from netgalley.com in December 2020. The data taken includes passwords, usernames, dates of birth and names and 4 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 23 Feb 2021, 2 months later. It is the 355th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
NetGalley’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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| IP addresses | Roughly where you were when you used the service. |
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, NetGalley among them, without showing the data.
- Change your NetGalley password.If the account still exists, sign in at NetGalley (netgalley.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 NetGalley.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, 2 months later.
- : the entry was last updated.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- TrueFire, February 2020, 599,667 accounts
- Estante Virtual, February 2019, 5.4 million accounts
- Hakko Corporation, March 2019, 9,665 accounts
- VNG, May 2015, 25 million accounts
- Sony, June 2011, 37,103 accounts
- bigbasket, October 2020, 25 million accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “NetGalley”, Have I Been Pwned, added 23 Feb 2021. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- netgalley.com, NetGalley’s website