Wishbone (2016) data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the August 2016 breach of Wishbone (2016). For every breach, see Breaches.
The Wishbone (2016) data breach exposed 2,247,314 accounts from wishbone.io in August 2016. The data taken includes auth tokens, 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 15 Mar 2017, 7 months later. It is the 301st largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Wishbone (2016)’s breach included 7 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:
| Data | What it’s used for |
|---|---|
| Auth tokens | A token can let someone into the account without the password at all. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
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, Wishbone (2016) among them, without showing the data.
- Turn on two-step sign-in.On Wishbone (2016) (wishbone.io) and your email, so leaked sign-in details aren’t enough on their own.
- Distrust messages that mention Wishbone (2016).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.
Timeline
- : the breach, as best it can be dated.
- : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, 7 months later.
- : the entry was last updated.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- Wishbone (2020), January 2020, 9.7 million accounts
- Liker, March 2021, 465,141 accounts
- ixigo, January 2019, 17 million accounts
- TaiLieu, November 2019, 7.3 million accounts
- VNG, May 2015, 25 million accounts
- NetGalley, December 2020, 1.4 million accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
- ^ Troy Hunt. “Wishbone (2016)”, Have I Been Pwned, added 15 Mar 2017. Breach data licensed CC BY 4.0.
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- wishbone.io, Wishbone (2016)’s website