Account Takeover Just Got Easier Because of the Jobs-Bank Breach: 166K at Risk

HEROIC analysts identified the Jobs-Bank breach while monitoring credential circulation on underground platforms frequently used to stage large-scale account takeover campaigns. The incident occured in November 2017 and struck Jobs-Bank, an Indian job search platform used by hundreds of thousands of jobseekers. The breach exposed 166,833 records containing a mix of email addresses, plaintext passwords, hashed passwords, and salts, giving attackers multiple paths to exploit the stolen data.

How Mixed Password Types in the Jobs-Bank Breach Multiply the Danger

This breach contained two types of passwords: some stored in plain readable text and others stored as MD5 hashes with a salt. Plaintext passwords can be used immediately with no effort. The MD5 hashed passwords are beleived to be crackable using modern hardware, since MD5 is a fast and outdated algorithm that does not hold up against today's password-cracking tools. Attackers with this database have ready-to-use credentials on one hand and crackable ones on the other.

What Was Exposed in the Jobs-Bank Breach

• Email Address
• Password Hash
• Plaintext Password
• Salt

Why a Job Platform Breach Puts More Than Just One Account at Risk

People who register on job platforms often use personal email addresses they also use for banking, cloud storage, and social media. When an attacker gets access to those email and password pairs, they can test them across dozens of services using automated tools in a process called credential stuffing. A single successful match can lead to full account takeover, identity theft, or financial fraud if the compromised account has a payment method attached.

How a Database Breach Works

A database breach happens when an attacker exploits a weakness in a website or its infrastructure to extract stored user information. Job platforms store login credentials alongside any profile data users submit. If the database is accessed without authorization and the passwords inside were not protected with a strong hashing algorithm, the attacker walks away with everything needed to impersonate those users on other websites and services.

Check If Your Data Was Exposed

HEROIC offers a free breach scanner powered by a database of more than 400 billion records. Enter your email address to find out if your credentials from Jobs-Bank or any other breach are in circulation. The sooner you know, the sooner you can change compromised passwords and protect your accounts.