Ciudad Ajedrez

We've been tracking a resurgence of older breaches appearing in combilists and credential stuffing attacks. While the individual impact of these breaches might seem low, their aggregate effect can be significant, especially when credentials are reused across multiple platforms. What really struck us about the recent reappearance of the Ciudad Ajedrez data wasn't the volume, but the fact that it contained plaintext passwords dating back to 2018. This suggests either a lack of basic security practices at the time of the breach or a failure to properly remediate the compromised credentials.

Ciudad Ajedrez's Chess Data Dump: Plaintext Passwords from 2018 Resurface

The Ciudad Ajedrez breach, initially occurring in August 2018, exposed over 11,000 unique email addresses and plaintext passwords from the online social platform and resource center catering to the Mexican chess community. The breach involved a direct database exposure, leading to the distribution of the data on a well-known hacking forum. What makes this breach particularly concerning is the storage of passwords in plaintext, a practice strongly discouraged by security professionals for decades. The reappearance of this data in contemporary combilists highlights the enduring risk posed by legacy breaches and the potential for attackers to leverage old vulnerabilities.

The breach came to our attention during routine monitoring of underground forums where data breaches are commonly traded and sold. The Ciudad Ajedrez data was being offered as part of a larger combilist, suggesting it's being actively used in credential stuffing attacks. The age of the data and the use of plaintext passwords caught our attention, indicating a potentially vulnerable user base that may not have updated their credentials across other online services.

This matters to enterprises now because it underscores the importance of proactively monitoring for compromised credentials, even from seemingly minor or dated breaches. Employees or customers who used Ciudad Ajedrez may have reused those same credentials on corporate accounts or other sensitive platforms. The risk is amplified by the fact that the passwords were stored in plaintext, making them easily accessible to attackers.

• Total records exposed: 11,475
• Types of data included: Email Address, Plaintext Password
• Source structure: Database
• Leak location(s): Prominent hacking forum
• Date leaked: 21-Aug-2018

While specific details about the forum where the data was shared are not included in the initial report, similar incidents are often discussed on platforms like BreachForums and various Telegram channels dedicated to data leaks. A search on these platforms for "Ciudad Ajedrez" and related terms may reveal further context or discussions about the breach. It is worth noting that HaveIBeenPwned also lists this breach in their database.