Data breach · April 2017

Was I in the Underworld Empire breach?

Underworld Empire is an online forum for a game. Its breach happened in April 2017 and exposed 428,779 accounts. It included passwords, email addresses, IP addresses (where you connected from) and usernames. If you had an account there by April 2017, check your address below to see whether it is one of them.

Breach record last updated . Steps read from the government pages at the foot of this page.

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01

What happened?

Underworld Empire, a game whose forum ran on vBulletin, had that forum breached in April 2017. In mid February 2018 the data was posted on a hacking forum where anyone could download it. It held usernames, IP and email addresses, plus passwords hashed with salted MD5.

Organisation
Underworld Empire, an online forum for a game (underworldempireforums.com)
When it happened
April 2017
Added to monitored breach databases
19 February 2018
Accounts in the data
428,779
What was exposed
passwords, email addresses, IP addresses (where you connected from) and usernames
02

What was exposed, and what does it mean for me?

  • Your passwordpasswords

    The password for this account was in the data, either as written or in a stored form that can often be reversed when the password is short or common. Anyone with the list can try it on your email, bank and shopping accounts.

  • Your email addressemail addresses

    Expect messages that look like they come from this service or another one you use, written to get you to click a link or sign in on a fake page.

  • Other detailsIP addresses (where you connected from) and usernames

    On their own these carry less risk, but they make a scam message sound more personal.

03

What should I do now?

In this order, for what this breach exposed.

1. Change the password, and every reuse of it

  • Change your Underworld Empire password if the account still exists. Then change the same password on every other account where you used it, starting with your email.
  • Use a different password for each account. A password manager makes that practical: it creates long passwords and remembers them for you.
  • Turn on a second sign-in step, such as a code from an app or a security key, for your email, bank and social accounts. Your email comes first, because every password reset goes to it.

2. Expect phishing

  • Be wary of messages that urge you to act fast, ask for personal details, or link to an address that is slightly off.
  • If a message might be genuine, do not use its links or phone numbers. Go to the site by typing its address yourself.
04

Is my address in it?

Enter your email address. We check that one address against monitored breach databases and show which breaches list it and what each exposed.

No account needed. We keep the address you check, when, and how many breach records it was found in, to prevent abuse, until you ask us to delete it. Privacy

Sources

Where does this come from?

Other breaches from 2017

All breaches Breaches from 2017 Breaches that exposed passwords