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Shadow data breach

From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the September 2023 breach of Shadow. For every breach, see Breaches.

The Shadow data breach exposed 543,295 accounts from shadow.tech in September 2023. The data taken includes dates of birth, names, physical addresses and email addresses.[1]

Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 11 Aug 2024, 10 months later. It is the 473rd largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.

What was exposed

Shadow’s breach included 4 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:

DataWhat it’s used for
Dates of birthUsed to prove who you are to banks and phone companies.
NamesMakes scam messages personal enough to believe.
Physical addressesUsed to prove who you are, and for scam letters and parcels.
Email addressesExpect scam emails that name the company to look genuine.

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, Shadow among them, without showing the data.
  2. Distrust messages that mention Shadow.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
  3. 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, 10 months later.

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. “Shadow”, Have I Been Pwned, added 11 Aug 2024. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.