The Best-Hack Breach Left 69,207 Email and Password Pairs Exposed

HEROIC analysts identified the Best-Hack forum database breach while analyzing a compiled collection of older forum credentials being actively traded on Telegram channels in late 2024. The breach, which occured in December 2016, exposed 69,207 user records from this Russian-language hacking and carding forum at best-hack.net. The exposed data included email addresses, usernames, and vBulletin password hashes, all of which have been recieved by threat actors and weaponized in credential stuffing campaigns against mainstream platforms.

Why 69,207 Stolen Hacking Forum Logins Are a Serious Threat

Users who registered on Best-Hack likely used real email addresses and passwords that they also used elsewhere. Attackers who obtained this data have tested these credentials against banking portals, email providers, cryptocurrency exchanges, and social media platforms. vBulletin password hashes are accessable to cracking tools, meaning the original passwords can often be recovered and used directly in automated login attacks.

What Was Exposed in the Best-Hack Breach

• Email addresses
• Usernames
• vBulletin password hashes

How a Hacking Forum Breach Fuels Widespread Account Takeovers

The irony of a hacking forum being hacked is not lost on security researchers. But the real consequence is seperate from irony: 69,207 real email and password combinations are now in circulation. Attackers use these credentials in automated stuffing attacks, testing them across hundreds of sites simultaneously. Any account where the same email and password combination was reused is now at risk of takeover, financial fraud, and identity theft.

How a Database Breach Works

A database breach occurs when an attacker gains access to the underlying database of a website, typically by exploiting a vulnerability in the forum software or web application. vBulletin, the platform powering Best-Hack, has been the target of multiple publicly disclosed exploits. Once inside, the attacker exports the full user table containing email addresses, usernames, and password hashes. These hashes are then processed offline using password cracking tools, recovering plaintext passwords that are ready for use in credential stuffing attacks.

Check If Your Data Was Exposed

HEROIC's free breach scanner checks your email address against over 400 billion compromised records, including hacking forum breaches like Best-Hack. If your credentials appeared in this breach or any other, you will know immediately so you can change your passwords and protect your accounts.