BEXIMCO Data Breach: How Attackers Use 9,057 Stolen Logins

HEROIC analysts identified a data breach tied to BEXIMCO, first leaked on August 26, 2018. The exposed dataset contains 9,057 records, each pairing an email address with an MD5 hashed password. The data was later shared on a known cybercrime forum, where it remains accessible to anyone looking to build attack lists from stolen credentials.

Why This Is Dangerous

MD5 is an outdated hashing algorithm that modern computers can crack quickly using brute-force tools and precomputed rainbow tables. That means the passwords in this leak are not just exposed in theory, they can realistically be recovered and paired back with the email addresses they belong to. Anyone holding this data can attempt to log into other accounts using the same email and password combination, a technique that works surprisingly often because so many people reuse passwords across sites.

What Was Exposed

• Email addresses
• Password hashes (MD5 format)

Why This Matters

Even a breach of this size can do outsized damage. Cracked email and password pairs feed directly into credential stuffing attacks, where automated tools test the same combination against banking sites, email providers, and social media platforms. If someone reused their BEXIMCO password anywhere else, that account is now at risk of takeover, and from there attackers can pivot toward identity theft or financial fraud using whatever personal information they find.

How Database and Combolist Breaches Work

This incident is classified as both a database breach and a combolist. A database breach happens when attackers gain unauthorized access to the backend storage of a website or platform and copy out user records directly. Once that data is stolen, it often gets converted into a combolist, a simple text file pairing usernames or emails with passwords, stripped of everything else and optimized for automated login attempts. Combolists are traded and reused for years after the original breach, which is why old incidents like this one can still pose a real threat today.

Check If You Are Affected

If you have ever had an account tied to BEXIMCO or reused a password across multiple sites, it is worth checking whether your information has surfaced in this or any other breach. HEROIC's free breach scanner searches a database of more than 400 billion leaked records to show you exactly where your data has been exposed, so you can change passwords before an attacker gets there first.