[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f4sm7az3ljfzu":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":20,"affectedCount":20,"affectedCountStatus":21,"affectedCountLowerBound":22,"affectedCountUnit":23,"hasEnglishDescription":4,"severity":24,"dataClasses":25,"description":33,"seoTitle":34,"seoTitleEn":35,"seoDescription":34,"seoDescriptionEn":36,"logoUrl":37,"isVerified":4,"isSensitive":38,"isSpamList":38,"isMalware":38,"company":39},"68e3266eda11adda4882518a","dlh","DLH.net Data Breach","dlhnet","dlh.net","2016-07-31T00:00:00.000Z","2016-09-07T13:29:25.000Z","2026-07-09T21:17:29.640Z","2026-07-18T23:49:43.816Z","Website hack","https:\u002F\u002Fdatabreach.com\u002Fbreach\u002Fdlh.net-2016",[16,18,19],"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dlh.net\u002Fen\u002Fnews\u002F51803\u002Fzdnet-article-wrong%21-dlhnet-was-not-hacked.html","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dlh.net\u002F",3264710,"known",null,"unknown","Critical",[26,27,28,29,30,31,32],"Dates of birth","Email addresses","Names","Hashed passwords","Passwords","Usernames","Website activity","\u003Cp>The DLH.net data breach is a major account security incident associated with member data from the DLH.net platform, which is known for game news, reviews, cheat codes, and game key distribution, during the July 2016 period. The record contains 3,264,710 accounts, and the incident date is tracked as July 31, 2016. Verified data fields include birth dates, email addresses, names, usernames, website activity, and salted MD5 password hashes. Therefore, the DLH.net data breach should be considered a high-risk gaming community leak, containing not only an email list but also account identification, age information, user activity, and password verification data.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are differences in detail among the publicly available records regarding this incident. While the main breach indexes refer to 3.3 million subscriber IDs and 3,264,710 affected accounts, another search record shows a lower number of lines. The company also published a brief statement in 2016 denying the attack allegation. Therefore, claims on this page regarding the attack method, the availability of game keys, or that all Steam keys were stolen are not presented as definite facts. The record is kept limited to queryable user data fields and the number of verified accounts. From the user's perspective, the main risk is that email, username, date of birth, and password hashes could be used together in attempts against other accounts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Leaking Data Types and Risks\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The prominent types of data in the DLH.net record are email addresses, dates of birth, names, usernames, website activity, and password hashes. The password field was reported not as plain text passwords but as salted MD5 password hashes. This distinction is important; a hash value is not a directly readable password, but since MD5 is considered weak by modern standards, especially common, short, or reused passwords are at high risk. Attackers can try these values with dictionary lists and attempt to access other games, stores, or email accounts where the same password is used with the same email.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Date of birth and name information, when combined with username and site activity, increase the risk of targeted social engineering. In gaming communities, users can use the same nickname on different platforms, so a DLH.net username can be linked to accounts on other forums, stores, or gaming networks. Website activity can provide context about the types of content or game keys a person is interested in. While these fields alone are not financial data, they may be sufficient to craft convincing password reset messages, fake account verification requests, or game key-themed scam messages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Verified Scope and Boundaries\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The verified scope is limited to DLH.net membership data and records dated July 31, 2016. The number of affected accounts in this record is maintained as 3,264,710. Some publicly available records use the expression 3.3 million subscriber IDs; this is a rounded representation. The 2,638,182 rows seen in another service may only show a specific searchable subset or a different processing result of the same incident. Therefore, the numbers should not be confused: the number of pwned accounts used here is the main number used for unique account IDs; a lower row count does not mean the entire incident is smaller.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boundaries of the incident should also be read with the same care. Verified user data fields relate to account and profile information; credit card number, payment account, official ID number, or private message content are not among the verified data classes for this record. Although game activation keys are mentioned in the context of the incident, this page does not assume the validity of these keys, that all of them have become unusable, or that they correspond one-to-one with each user account. Due to the company's previous denial, definitive and expansive language is also not used regarding the technical method of attack; the verified data fields affecting the user are taken as the basis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>User Groups at Risk\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The highest risk group consists of people who opened a DLH.net account before 2016, used the newsletter or forum membership, and participated in game key campaigns. People who use the same username on Steam, game forums, stores, or social platforms can be more easily linked. When the email address and username appear together, an attacker may try to find the same person on different platforms. Birthdate information can also be misused in account recovery questions, age-based profile verifications, or messages attempting to appear trustworthy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Users who reuse their passwords on different sites are also at risk. Even if a password hash is not the actual password, due to the weak MD5 structure, old and simple passwords can be more easily guessed. Even if it is believed that a password used in 2016 is no longer active today, the same password pattern may still be used across different accounts. In gaming communities, users may underestimate the impact of such old breaches because old forum accounts, gift key distributions, and campaign registrations are forgotten. The DLH.net data breach is particularly important for people who reused passwords between old gaming accounts and their main email account.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Urgent Measures to Be Taken\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The password used for DLH.net should no longer be active anywhere. If the same or a similar password has been used on other accounts, unique, strong passwords should be assigned to all of those accounts. Priority should be given to email accounts, game stores, Steam-like platforms, payment-linked accounts, and forums where the same username is used. Two-factor authentication should be enabled on all critical accounts that support it. Even if it was an old breach, leaked email and username pairs can be reused years later in automated login attempts or phishing campaigns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Attention should be paid to messages such as password reset messages, game key gifts, free game campaigns, account suspension warnings, or date of birth verification requests. Instead of clicking the link, users should type the relevant platform's address into the browser themselves. Unexpected forwarding rules, unrecognized sessions, and suspicious recovery options should be checked in the email account. The appearance of the same username elsewhere is not proof of violation on its own; however, when considered together with email, date of birth, and password history, it is a strong warning for account security.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Long-Term Security Strategies\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The DLH.net data breach shows that old game and forum accounts should not be forgotten in the security plan. Users should now close accounts they no longer use, use a permanent email address only for important accounts, and prefer separate email addresses for campaigns or forum memberships. Using a password manager makes it easier to create unique passwords for each account and helps recognize old password patterns. When unchanging information like birth dates is leaked, security questions based on this information should no longer be considered reliable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lesson for platform operators is to protect password hashes with up-to-date algorithms and not to unnecessarily expand auxiliary areas such as user activity. Older methods like MD5, even if salted, are not considered sufficient against modern attack capabilities. Gaming communities, forums, and campaign sites should not view account data as low-risk, because the same username and email can serve as a bridge to other platforms. Regular vulnerability assessments, access restriction, clearing old sessions, and early detection of abnormal data access strengthen long-term protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Record Control and User Action\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>If you see a match in this record, your email address may have been included in account data associated with the DLH.net data breach. This does not mean that your account has been compromised today; however, it indicates that fields such as the password, username, date of birth, and website activity used during the 2016 period have become a security risk. The first action is to find the passwords used during the same period with DLH.net and change them all to unique passwords. In particular, the main email account should be protected, recovery options updated, and two-factor authentication enabled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the incident is old, it should not be assumed that the risk is over. Old breach data can be combined years later and used for new account attempts or personalized fraud messages. Review your username history, gaming platform accounts, and old forum memberships. If the same password pattern is still being used today, change it. The purpose of this record is to help users prioritize their account security decisions correctly by presenting the DLH.net data breach without exaggeration, limiting controversial details, and clearly showing verified data fields.\u003C\u002Fp>","","DLH.net Data Breach (3.3 Million Reported Records)","DLH.net Data Breach. 3.3 Million reported records were reported. Reported data: Dates of birth, Email addresses, Names. Review the scope, risks, and…","\u002Fuploads\u002Flogo\u002Fdlh_net.webp",false,{"name":40,"sector":41,"country":42,"website":10,"websiteArchiveUrl":34,"websiteStatus":34,"websiteCheckedAt":22},"DLH.net","Gaming","Germany"]