StarTribune data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the October 2019 breach of StarTribune. For every breach, see Breaches.
The StarTribune data breach exposed 2,192,857 accounts from startribune.com in October 2019. The data taken includes passwords, usernames, dates of birth and names and 3 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 30 Oct 2020, 13 months later. It is the 303rd largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
StarTribune’s breach included 7 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. |
| Genders | 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, StarTribune among them, without showing the data.
- Change your StarTribune password.If the account still exists, sign in at StarTribune (startribune.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 StarTribune.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
- 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, 13 months later.
- : the entry was last updated.
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:
- Animal Jam, October 2020, 7.1 million accounts
- NetGalley, December 2020, 1.4 million accounts
- TrueFire, February 2020, 599,667 accounts
- Thingiverse, October 2020, 228,102 accounts
- Estante Virtual, February 2019, 5.4 million accounts
- Hakko Corporation, March 2019, 9,665 accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “StarTribune”, Have I Been Pwned, added 30 Oct 2020. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- startribune.com, StarTribune’s website