Nearly 620 million stolen accounts for sale on dark web

(Image credit: Shutterstock) (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Hundreds of millions of stolen online accounts have been found for sale on the Dark Web.

As many as 617 million accounts from 16 popular websites were detected on the Dream Market website on the notorious Tor network.

For the equivalent of $20,000 in Bitcoin, hackers could get hold of information including account names, email addresses and passwords - although the latter appear to still be hashed, meaning they still require cracking to be able to be used.

Stolen accounts for sale

The haul was highlighted to The Register by the apparent seller, who provided the site with sample records from the collection.

Some of the worst hit sites were Dubsmash (162 million accounts) MyFitness Pal (151 million) and MyHeritage (92 million), with other victims including dating sites, ecommerce stores and gaming studios.

The database was put up for sale by a single hacker, who according to The Register, claimed the information was stolen during 2018. The hacker cracked security vulnerabilities within web apps to be able to deploy remote-code execution, allowing them to easily extract user account data.

The Register contacted MyHeritage to see if the sample information it was provided was real, as the site had suffered a data breach last year, with the genealogy site confirming the data was legitimate.

The hacker claimed to already have secure one buyer, with more potentially to come.

  • Keep your data private online with the best VPN of 2020
Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.

Latest in Security
Data Breach
Thousands of healthcare records exposed online, including private patient information
China
Juniper patches security flaws which could have let hackers take over your router
Representational image depecting cybersecurity protection
GitLab has patched a host of worrying security issues
Ai tech, businessman show virtual graphic Global Internet connect Chatgpt Chat with AI, Artificial Intelligence.
AI agents can be hijacked to write and send phishing attacks
China
Volt Typhoon threat group had access to American utility networks for the best part of a year
Abstract image of cyber security in action.
MassJacker malware targets those looking for pirated software
Latest in News
Google Pixel 8a in aloe green showing
Google Pixel 9a benchmark link teases the performance of the upcoming mid-ranger
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #1148)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #379)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #645)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro HANDS ON
Leaked iPhone 17 dummy units may have given us our best look yet at all four models
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over