VNG Data Breach
Status: Confirmed
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: VNG · Actor: Unknown · Source: DataBreach.com / ObscureIQ intelligence
Attack: Data Exfiltration via Under investigation
Timeline: Breach (May, 2015) · Reported (Apr, 2018) · Leak (Apr, 2018)
Exposure: 77.4M+ records · Dates of birth, Email, Genders, IP Address, IP addresses, Marital statuses, Name, Names, Occupations, Passport, Password, Passwords, Phone Number, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Usernames
Status: Confirmed · Risk: High (Document fraud + Account takeover)
Summary
In May 2015 Vietnamese company VNG Corporation’s platform Zing.vn suffered a data breach affecting over 163 million users. The compromised data included usernames birth dates genders home addresses and unsalted MD5-hashed passwords. The breach was publicly reported in April 2018 after the data was found being traded on hacking forums. In January 2024, reports indicated that this data resurfaced as part of a larger compilation of leaked records.
About VNG
VNG is the organization affected by this breach. User data may have been generated through account creation, service usage, or business operations.
If you have interacted with VNG in any capacity, your data may be included in this breach.
Threat Actor: Unknown
The threat actor responsible for this breach has not been publicly identified or confirmed at this time.
- Under investigation
Breach Exploitation Status
High
Status
Detected
Detected
Detected
Unknown
Unknown
Indefinite (critical identifiers)
SSNs and government IDs never expire. This data can be used for identity theft years or decades after exposure.
Data Points Exposed
Dark Web Verification
Status: Confirmed
- Dataset containing approximately 77.4M+ records has been identified in breach intelligence sources.
- The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.
Impact
This breach carries high risk due to the nature of exposed data fields and the scale of affected records.
- Targeted phishing referencing VNG accounts or services
- Credential stuffing against accounts sharing the same password
- SIM-swap attempts where phone numbers are present
- Physical mail scams and address-based identity verification fraud
- Age/DOB used to bypass identity verification questions
- Data broker enrichment and resale
Recommendations for Impacted Individuals
If you believe your information may be included:
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.
VNG account updates
Password reset requests
Verify directly through official channels.
Email compromise is often the first pivot point.
Frequently Asked Questions
In May, 2015, VNG experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of approximately 77.4M+ records containing personal information.
The exposed data includes Dates of birth, Email, Genders, IP Address, IP addresses, Marital statuses, Name, Names, Occupations, Passport, Password, Passwords, Phone Number, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Usernames.
Approximately 77.4M+ records were affected based on current breach intelligence.
Yes. This breach is treated as confirmed based on data observed in breach intelligence platforms.
Data circulation has been detected across breach-sharing channels. Downstream exploitation risk exists based on the nature of the exposed fields.
Rotate passwords associated with VNG, enable multi-factor authentication on email and financial accounts, and monitor for suspicious activity.
Protect Yourself
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Corporate Accountability
Organizations that collect personal data have a duty to implement reasonable safeguards and to notify affected individuals when breaches occur.
Scope assessments may evolve as investigations continue. Users should not rely solely on early estimates when making risk decisions.
ObscureIQ Advisory
We combine proprietary dark web access with commercial and restricted breach intelligence to verify exposure and assess real-world risk.
- A public-facing individual
- A high-profile executive
- A customer of VNG
- Or simply concerned about credential reuse
We can confirm whether your information is circulating and evaluate downstream threat vectors.