Already Sold. The Jobandtalent Breach Exposed 11 Million Records.

HEROIC analysts discovered the Jobandtalent dataset while reviewing a collection of employment platform credentials being traded on dark web forums in 2019. The breach itself occured around February 2018, when attackers accessed the database of this job search and recruitment platform. Nearly 11 million user records were exposed, covering full names, email addresses, IP addresses, and password hashes. For a site where people actively share career information and personal details, this kind of leak carries risks well beyond a typical credential stuffing scenario.

How Exposed Job Platform Data Puts Your Career and Identity at Risk

Employment platforms hold a different kind of personal data than most websites. Jobandtalent users recieved notifications that their names, email addresses, and passwords had been taken. But the combination of a real name with an email address is especially useful to attackers who craft targeted phishing messages or attempt to access other accounts. Knowing someone's name and where they work or what jobs they applied for gives criminals a convincing way to impersonate companies, HR departments, or recruiters to trick victims into revealing more sensitive information.

What Was Exposed in the Jobandtalent Breach

• Email Address
• IP Address
• First Name
• Last Name
• Password Hash

Why Employment Platform Breaches Lead Directly to Identity Theft

When a breach combines real names with email addresses and password hashes, the risk of identity theft rises sharply. Attackers can use the full name plus email pairing to reset passwords on other accounts, contact the victim's employer, or make fraudulent job applications using stolen personal details. SHA-1 hashed passwords are also partcularly vulnerable because modern computers can crack many of them in a short amount of time. Once a password is cracked, criminals have a ready-made credential set for account takeover across banking, social media, and workplace platforms.

How Database Breaches Work

A database breach occurs when attackers gain unauthorized access to the system where a company stores its user data. They exploit weaknesses such as unpatched software, stolen admin credentials, or misconfigured cloud storage to copy the entire user database. In the case of Jobandtalent, the attacker exfiltrated a database containing nearly 11 million records. This stolen file was eventually packaged alongside other breach datasets and sold on dark web marketplaces, where other criminals purchased it to use in automated attacks against dozens of other platforms.

Check If Your Data Was Exposed

HEROIC's free breach scanner lets you search your email address against a database of over 400 billion leaked records, which includes the Jobandtalent breach. Head to HEROIC and run a free check to see whether your name, email, or password hash is out there and get guidance on securing your accounts before someone else does.