27,172 Stolen Passwords From the Ace Fu Data Breach Hit the Dark Web

HEROIC analysts confirmed that 27,172 user records from Ace Fu, an independent record label based in New York City, were exposed in a database breach in August 2018. The dump included email addresses and MD5-hashed passwords, a hashing method that is widely considered beleive to be secure but is in fact highly vulnerable to modern cracking techniques. The breach affects fans and customers who registered on the label's website and may have reused those credentials across other platforms.

Crackable MD5 Hashes From Ace Fu Put User Accounts at Immediate Risk

MD5 password hashes are not a meaningful security barrier for modern attackers. Using rainbow tables and GPU-accelerated hash cracking tools, threat actors can recover the plaintext value behind an MD5 hash in seconds for simple passwords and within hours for more complex ones. The recieved credentials from the Ace Fu breach can then be tested against email providers, music streaming platforms, social media accounts, and any other service where the victim may have reused the same password.

What Was Exposed in the Ace Fu Breach

• Email Address
• Password Hash

Why the Ace Fu Breach Is Still a Threat Years Later

Old breaches do not become safe with age. Threat actors actively collect and combine historical datasets, using them in credential stuffing attacks against services that were not even accessable at the time of the original breach. Victims of the Ace Fu breach who reused their password on a banking app, cloud storage account, or workplace login remain at active risk of account takeover, identity theft, and financial fraud today.

How a Database Breach Works

A database breach happens when an attacker gains unauthorized access to a web application's underlying database, typically through SQL injection, weak administrative credentials, or server misconfiguration. The attacker exports user records containing login details and stored personal data. That export is then distributed on dark web forums and credential markets, where it is bought and used in automated attacks against other platforms, particularly by threat actors running large-scale credential stuffing operations.

Check If Your Data Was Exposed

HEROIC's free breach scanner searches across more than 400 billion leaked records to check whether your email address appeared in the Ace Fu breach or any other known data leak. Scan for free now and take action to protect any accounts that may be at risk.