[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f2ivzbv2i9yk8u":3},{"success":4,"breach":5},true,{"_id":6,"name":7,"title":8,"slug":9,"domain":10,"breachDate":11,"addedDate":12,"modifiedDate":13,"contentUpdatedAt":14,"source":15,"sourceUrl":16,"sourceUrls":17,"pwnCount":19,"affectedCount":19,"affectedCountStatus":20,"affectedCountLowerBound":21,"affectedCountUnit":22,"hasEnglishDescription":4,"severity":23,"dataClasses":24,"description":29,"seoTitle":30,"seoTitleEn":31,"seoDescription":30,"seoDescriptionEn":32,"logoUrl":33,"isVerified":4,"isSensitive":34,"isSpamList":34,"isMalware":34,"company":35},"68e3266eda11adda48825113","bit-torrent","BitTorrent Data Breach","bittorrent","bittorrent.com","2016-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","2016-06-08T10:49:24.000Z","2026-07-02T12:29:03.590Z","2026-07-18T23:44:35.080Z","Verified breach record and vendor advisory","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.vice.com\u002Fen\u002Farticle\u002Fanother-day-another-hack-user-accounts-for-bittorrents-forum-hacking\u002F",[16,18],"https:\u002F\u002Fforum.utorrent.com\u002Fannouncement\u002F1-important-security-advisory\u002F",34235,"known",null,"unknown","Medium",[25,26,27,28],"Email addresses","IP addresses","Passwords","Usernames","\u003Cp>The BitTorrent data breach is related to the exposure of community forum user records associated with the popular file-sharing software BitTorrent in January 2016. The LeakData entry tracks this breach with 34,235 accounts. Confirmed data types include email addresses, IP addresses, passwords, and usernames. This record should not be confused with the larger uTorrent forum breach; here the scope is limited to the BitTorrent forum and just over 34 thousand accounts.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>It has been stated that in the forum infrastructure used in the breach, passwords were stored as hashed values based on weak SHA-1 salts. While the use of salt complicates some mass attacks, SHA-1 is no longer considered a strong password storage method. In the forum context, the exposure of email, IP, username, and password information together creates a risk of account takeover and profile matching, especially for people who use the same username and password across different technology, gaming, torrent, or forum accounts.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Leaked Data Types and Risks\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The types of data verified in a BitTorrent infringement are email addresses, IP addresses, passwords, and usernames. The username represents the forum identity and, if used in other communities, may lead to the association of a person's different online profiles. The email address identifies the account, the IP address can provide clues about the approximate connection area or account usage history, and the password field constitutes an account security risk.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Storing passwords as SHA-1 based hash values carries serious risks for weak or reused passwords, even though it is less direct than plaintext password leaks. Attackers may try email and password combinations on other forums, email accounts, social media accounts, file-sharing communities, or gaming platforms. An IP address and username can also make targeted phishing messages more convincing.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Verified Scope and Boundaries\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The BitTorrent record on LeakData is tracked at the account level for 34,235 accounts and is recorded with the event date of January 1, 2016. The record is associated with BitTorrent community forum users. This event does not mean that all users of the BitTorrent software were affected; it should be evaluated as limited to users with a forum account and forum data. This distinction is important to avoid giving the user a false sense of broad impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>In this record, date of birth, physical address, phone number, payment information, private messages, or file sharing history are not included as verified data categories. The verified fields are email, IP, username, and password. Therefore, the record should be taken seriously in terms of account security and forum identity; however, it should not be expanded with unverified personal or financial fields. From the user's perspective, the key question is whether the same password has been used on other accounts.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>User Groups at Risk\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The first group at risk consists of individuals who have created accounts on the BitTorrent community forum and have used the same email, username, or password across different platforms. It is common for nicknames to be repeated in file-sharing, technology, and forum communities. This situation can lead to different profiles being linked through the leaked username. If the password has also been reused, the risk directly turns into account takeover attempts.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Forum context requires additional attention for users who register with a work or school email. Attackers may send phishing messages that appear as security notifications, copyright warnings, account verification, or password reset messages using an old forum account. An IP address alone does not provide an exact location; however, when combined with other data, it can provide clues about a user's online habits. Therefore, users in the match field should not underestimate the forum account.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Urgent Measures to Be Taken\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Users who see a match in the BitTorrent record should first check the password they used on the forum at that time and whether the same password was reused on other accounts. If the same or similar password was used on email, social media, file sharing, gaming, forum, or work accounts, it should be changed immediately. New passwords should be unique for each account, and two-step verification should be enabled on all important accounts wherever possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Users should be cautious of suspicious messages coming from forum names, file-sharing contexts, or old usernames. The presence of the correct username or email address in a message does not prove that the message is trustworthy. Login should be done through a known address instead of links, unknown sessions should be closed, and security notifications should be checked. Old SHA-1–based passwords should not be reused for any account.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Long-Term Security Strategies\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The BitTorrent incident shows that passwords used on forum accounts can also pose long-term risks. Users should use unique passwords for each forum and community account, not reuse old passwords on new accounts, and generate strong passwords with a password manager. If it is necessary to use the same username on many platforms, having completely different passwords becomes even more important.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>From the perspective of forum operators, old forum software and third-party providers should be subject to regular security audits. Password storage methods should comply with current standards, and weak methods such as SHA-1 should be abandoned. On the user side, the most practical long-term defense is not to leave old forum accounts as forgotten risks, to close unused accounts, and to protect important email accounts with two-factor authentication.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Record Control and User Action\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>When a query is made on LeakData for a BitTorrent data breach, the result shows whether the entered email address is found in this verified BitTorrent forum dataset. A match indicates that the fields of email, IP address, username, and password may have been affected in this incident. This result does not mean that payment information or software usage history has been leaked; however, it requires immediately checking for password reuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Users whose accounts have matched should update all accounts where they use the same password, check the login history on important accounts, and enable two-factor authentication. The absence of a match does not guarantee that they are not included in other torrent, forum, or technology community data sets; it only indicates that there is no match in this BitTorrent record. This record is organized limited to verified domains, separating the BitTorrent forum breach from uTorrent and other torrent sites.\u003C\u002Fp>","","BitTorrent Data Breach (34.2 Thousand Reported Records)","BitTorrent Data Breach. 34.2 Thousand reported records were reported. Reported data: Email addresses, IP addresses, Passwords. Review the scope, risks, and…","\u002Fuploads\u002Flogo\u002Fbittorrent_com.webp",false,{"name":36,"sector":37,"country":38,"website":10,"websiteArchiveUrl":30,"websiteStatus":30,"websiteCheckedAt":21},"BitTorrent","Peer-to-peer software and community forum","United States"]