Agent1800

We've been tracking an uptick in older breach datasets resurfacing on various hacking forums, often repackaged and sold as "new" combolists. What really struck us about this particular incident wasn't the size of the breach, but the specific target: a relatively niche Chinese-language community forum focused on the Waterloo-Kitchener area in Canada. The localized nature and the age of the data point to potentially targeted harvesting for specific regional intelligence, rather than a broad, opportunistic attack. This suggests actors may be looking for individuals with ties to that specific geographic area or demographic.

Agent1800's Decade-Old Breach Resurfaces With 9.7K Email Addresses and Password Hashes

In August 2018, the Chinese-language online community and real estate forum Agent1800 suffered a data breach. The breach, which affected 9,738 unique email addresses, has recently resurfaced on a popular hacking forum. The data includes email addresses and MD5 hashed passwords, a weak hashing algorithm which has been deprecated for many years. The re-emergence of this dataset raises concerns about the potential for credential stuffing attacks and targeted phishing campaigns against individuals associated with the Waterloo-Kitchener area.

The breach was initially discovered and reported in 2018, with some coverage in local news outlets at the time. However, its recent appearance on a well-known hacking forum suggests the data is being actively circulated and potentially utilized for malicious purposes. The use of MD5 hashing is particularly concerning, as these hashes can be easily cracked using readily available tools and rainbow tables. The combination of geographic specificity and weak password security elevates the risk for affected individuals.

What makes this breach relevant to enterprises now is the potential for employees or individuals associated with their organization to have used their corporate email addresses or reused passwords on the Agent1800 forum. Even a seemingly insignificant breach like this can serve as a starting point for attackers seeking to gain a foothold into larger systems through credential reuse or social engineering. This incident highlights the continued risk posed by older breaches and the importance of monitoring for leaked credentials across a wide range of sources.

Key point: Total records exposed: 9,738

Key point: Types of data included: Email Address, Password Hash (MD5)

Key point: Sensitive content types: Potentially Personally Identifiable Information (PII) via email addresses

Key point: Source structure: Database, Combolist

Key point: Leak location(s): Popular hacking forum

Key point: Date leaked: 24-Aug-2018 (initial breach), recent re-emergence on hacking forum

While there's limited mainstream media coverage of the original Agent1800 breach, mentions of the forum and its data have appeared sporadically in online discussions related to data breaches and password cracking. The re-emergence of the dataset aligns with a broader trend of older breaches being repackaged and sold as new combolists, often targeting specific demographics or industries. This tactic allows threat actors to monetize previously leaked data and potentially bypass existing breach detection systems. This kind of breach highlights the ongoing threat from older, seemingly forgotten incidents, and underscores the need for constant vigilance and proactive monitoring for leaked credentials.

Email · Address · Password · Hash