Last.fm 2012 Data Breach
ObscureIQ Breach Intelligence
Low SeverityWebsite / service breach
Last.fm Music Tracking Platform Breach (2012, Disclosed 2016): 43 Million User Accounts Including Passwords Exposed
Music tracking and recommendation service.
Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence
23/100Breach Risk Index
5Data Value
25Market Recency
584dSince Breach
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: Last.fm · Actor: Unknown · Sources: 11 references
Attack: Unknown
Profile: Platform · Music tracking and discovery · Streaming and analytics platform · Global
Timeline: Breach (2012-03-22) · Indexed (Dec 01, 2024) · Year (2012)
Exposure: 43.6M records · 4 fields: Activity History, Email Address, Password, Username
Status: Confirmed
Executive Summary
In March 2012, Last.fm was hacked and roughly 43.5 million accounts (about 37 million unique email addresses) were exposed, though the scale was not known until the data surfaced publicly in September 2016. Exposed data included usernames, email addresses, passwords stored as unsalted MD5 hashes, and website activity. Researchers reported cracking over 96% of the hashes within two hours.
ObscureIQ assessment: Exposure enables account takeover, harassment, and detailed profiling based on years of listening activity. Longitudinal music data can also support identity linkage across other communities.
Breach Impact
With unsalted MD5 hashes almost entirely cracked, the breach exposed effectively plaintext credentials for tens of millions of users, driving broad credential-stuffing risk.
About Last.fm
Last.fm is a music-tracking and recommendation service that logs listening activity ("scrobbling") and connects users with music discovery features and a community.
Why They Hold Your Data
Music-tracking and discovery platforms collect user accounts, emails, usernames, listening histories, social connections, and analytics records tied to long-term media behavior.
Recent Developments
Last.fm was aware of an incident in 2012, but the full scale only became clear when the data was released publicly in September 2016.
Data Points Exposed
4 verified field types
Activity History
Email Address
Password Critical
Username
Field names are shown in full for clarity and search visibility. Canonical machine keys are emitted only in this page’s structured data.
Exploitation & Downstream Threats
Threat Activity:Moderate
Primary downstream threats:
- Credential stuffing against reused passwords across other platforms
- Targeted phishing campaigns using exposed email addresses
Threat vectors:
- Behavioural profiling & blackmail
- Phishing, credential stuffing & account takeover
- Credential stuffing & account takeover
- Cross-platform tracking & credential stuffing
Recommended Actions
If you believe your information may be included:
Change Reused Passwords
Update this account and anywhere you reused the password; use a manager.
Enable MFA Everywhere
Turn on multi-factor authentication on email first, then financial accounts.
Report & Recover
If you spot misuse, start an official recovery plan and report fraud.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Last.fm breach?▾
In March 2012, Last.fm was hacked and roughly 43.5 million accounts (about 37 million unique email addresses) were exposed, though the scale was not known until the data surfaced publicly in September 2016. Exposed data included usernames, email addresses, passwords stored as unsalted MD5 hashes,…
What data was exposed?▾
Verified fields include Activity History, Email Address, Password, Username.
What should I do if I was affected?▾
Change reused passwords, enable MFA, and (if identity or financial data is involved) freeze your credit and monitor your accounts.
Sources & References
Every claim on this page is traceable. This breach draws on:
Breach Index
Breach Index
Cross-source
9ghz
Cross-source
BreachAware
Cross-source
BreachDirectory
Cross-source
BreachForums_Official_Index
Cross-source
BreachNet.pw
Cross-source
Citadel.pw
Cross-source
DeepSearch
Cross-source
Dehashed (+11)
ObscureIQ Intelligence
ObscureIQ proprietary analysis
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