CreepStudio

We're seeing a concerning trend of breaches impacting smaller, regional businesses, often overlooked in broader threat landscapes. Our team surfaced a notable example while tracking activity on a popular breach aggregation forum. What really struck us wasn't the number of records exposed – just over 100,000 unique emails – but the age of the breach and the continued availability of the data. This indicates a potential for ongoing credential stuffing attacks leveraging outdated information.

The Taiwanese Design Studio Breach That Keeps On Giving: 101k Exposed Emails and Hashes

In February 2018, CreepStudio, a Taiwanese interior design studio, experienced a data breach that exposed 101,057 unique email addresses and MD5 hashed passwords. The breach was initially reported on several security news sites shortly after it occurred. However, we recently observed the database reappearing on a well-known breach forum, suggesting continued circulation and potential misuse of the compromised credentials.

The re-emergence of this old data caught our attention for several reasons. First, the persistence of the data indicates a failure in remediation efforts by affected users. Second, the presence of MD5 hashes, a weak hashing algorithm, makes these passwords particularly vulnerable to cracking. Finally, the fact that this data is still circulating highlights the long tail of risk associated with even relatively small breaches.

This breach matters to enterprises now because it exemplifies the ongoing threat of credential reuse. Even if your organization wasn't directly impacted by the CreepStudio breach, employees who used the same email and password combination on other services are at risk. This underscores the importance of proactive password monitoring and employee education programs.

Key point: Total records exposed: 101,057

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

Key point: Sensitive content types: None specifically identified, but email addresses can be used for targeted phishing campaigns.

Key point: Source structure: Database

Key point: Leak location(s): Breach Forums

Key point: Date of first appearance: 23-Feb-2018

Several news outlets reported on the CreepStudio breach in 2018, including brief mentions on smaller Taiwanese tech blogs. While not widely covered in major cybersecurity publications, the incident serves as a reminder that even seemingly minor breaches can have long-lasting consequences. The continued availability of the database on breach forums reinforces the need for organizations to proactively monitor for compromised credentials and implement robust password security measures.

Email · Address · Password · Hash