The PowerBot Leak Contains More Records Than Cleveland’s Population

HEROIC analysts identified a breach tied to PowerBot, a RuneScape botting tool site, dated September 2014. The breach exposed 375,525 records containing email addresses and passwords stored in plaintext.

Why This Is Dangerous

Because these passwords were never hashed, every one of the 375,525 accounts in this breach came with a fully readable password attached. There was no cracking required, meaning anyone who obtained this data could log in immediately using the exact password each user typed.

What Was Exposed in the PowerBot Breach

• Email addresses
• Plaintext passwords

Why This Matters

Gaming tool sites like PowerBot are often used with the same email and password combination people use for more sensitive accounts. A working, plaintext password pulled from this breach can be tested directly against email providers, banking sites, and shopping accounts through credential stuffing, leading to account takeover and, from there, identity theft or financial fraud.

How a Database Breach Like This Happens

This incident is classified as a database breach, meaning attackers gained direct access to PowerBot's backend systems and exported the user table in a single operation rather than targeting individuals one at a time. Storing passwords in plaintext removes the one safeguard that would normally slow an attacker down, so once the database was extracted, every credential inside it was immediately usable.

Check If You Are Affected

If you ever had a PowerBot account, check whether your email address appears in this exposure. HEROIC's free breach scanner checks your email against more than 400 billion leaked records so you can find out quickly and change any reused passwords.