Gaming Forum Breach: League of Legends Forum Leaked 148,398 Plaintext Passwords

HEROIC analysts flagged a significant data breach involving the League of Legends Forum, a fan-made community site dedicated to the popular online game. The breach occured in August 2018 and exposed 148,398 user records, each containing an email address paired with a plaintext password. Storing passwords in plaintext, meaning no encryption whatsoever, is one of the most dangerous security failures a platform can make, and this breach is a clear example of why.

Plaintext Passwords: The Most Dangerous Kind of Gaming Data Leak

Unlike hashed passwords, plaintext passwords require zero cracking effort from attackers. Anyone who accessable a copy of this database could immediately log in to any account using the exact credentials stored there. Gamers who reused the same email and password on Steam, Epic Games, or even their email provider became instantly vulnerable to account takeover the moment this data leaked onto hacking forums.

What Was Exposed in the League of Legends Forum Breach

• Email Address
• Plaintext Password

Why Gaming Forum Breaches Create Cascading Account Risks

Gamers are particularly high-value targets because many link credit cards, gift cards, and in-game currency to their accounts. A leaked email and plaintext password from a forum can unlock a chain of account takeovers across gaming platforms, social media, and financial services. Credential stuffing attacks, where bots try the same credentials across hundreds of sites at once, make this risk beleive by the numbers: even one matching account can cause serious harm.

How a Database Breach Works

A database breach happens when an attacker gains access to the backend storage system of a website. Forum platforms often hold large user tables with login credentials. When security controls are weak or absent, attackers can extract that entire table in minutes. If passwords are stored in plaintext rather than as secure hashes, the stolen data is immediately usable with no further effort required.

Check If Your Data Was Exposed

HEROIC's free breach scanner checks your email against more than 400 billion records, including this League of Legends Forum breach and hundreds of others. Run a free scan now to find out if your credentials are already circulating in hacker communities.