MyHeritage 2017 Data Breach
ObscureIQ Breach Intelligence
Moderate SeverityWebsite / service breach
MyHeritage Genealogy & DNA Platform Breach (2017, Disclosed 2018): 92 Million User Email Addresses & Password Hashes Exposed
Genealogy and DNA testing platform.
Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence
46/100Breach Risk Index
18Data Value
25Market Recency
584dSince Breach
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: MyHeritage · Actor: Unknown · Sources: 7 references
Attack: Unknown
Profile: Platform · Genealogy and DNA services · Family history platform · Global
Timeline: Breach (2017-10-26) · Indexed (Dec 01, 2024) · Year (2017)
Exposure: 92.3M records · 2 fields: Email Address, Password
Status: Confirmed
Executive Summary
In October 2017, genealogy service MyHeritage suffered a data breach exposing 92,284,195 accounts, discovered in June 2018 on a private server outside the company. The exposed data was limited to email addresses and passwords stored as per-user salted SHA-1 hashes. MyHeritage stated that DNA/genetic data, family trees, and payment information were held on separate systems and were not part of the breach.
ObscureIQ assessment: Extremely sensitive. Exposure can reveal family relationships, ancestry, and genetic information, creating long-lived privacy harms, re-identification risk, and cross-family targeting.
Breach Impact
Exposure is limited to credentials, so the primary risk is credential stuffing and phishing; notably, no genetic or family-tree data was exposed despite the sensitive nature of the platform.
About MyHeritage
MyHeritage is a genealogy and DNA-testing platform that lets users build family trees, search historical records, and analyze genetic ancestry.
Why They Hold Your Data
Family-history and DNA platforms collect identity, contact details, family trees, relationship mappings, historical records, and genetic data tied to genealogy services.
Recent Developments
MyHeritage disclosed the breach in June 2018 after a researcher found the data on an external server, and it stated that DNA data and family trees were stored on separate systems that were not affected.
Data Points Exposed
2 verified field types
Email Address
Password Critical
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:
- Phishing, credential stuffing & account takeover
- Credential stuffing & account takeover
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 MyHeritage breach?▾
In October 2017, genealogy service MyHeritage suffered a data breach exposing 92,284,195 accounts, discovered in June 2018 on a private server outside the company. The exposed data was limited to email addresses and passwords stored as per-user salted SHA-1 hashes. MyHeritage stated that…
What data was exposed?▾
Verified fields include Email Address, Password.
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
BreachForums_Official_Index
Cross-source
Hashmob
Cross-source
leakfind
ObscureIQ Intelligence
ObscureIQ proprietary analysis
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