HIGH RISK BREACH

Protemps Data Breach


Status: Confirmed

50K+Records
Oct, 2021Breach
12/20/21Data Posted
9/10Severity
HighThreat Level

Breach Intelligence Summary


Entity: Protemps · Actor: Unknown · Source: Have I Been Pwned / ObscureIQ intelligence

Attack: Data Exfiltration via Under investigation

Timeline: Breach (Oct, 2021) · Reported (Dec, 2021) · Leak (12/20/21)

Exposure: 50K+ records · Email, Genders, Job applications, Marital statuses, Names, Nationalities, Passport numbers, Passwords, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Religions, Salutations

Status: Confirmed · Risk: High (Document fraud + Account takeover)

Summary

In October 2021 the Singaporean recruitment website Protemps suffered a data breach that exposed almost 50 000 unique email addresses. The impacted data includes names email and physical addresses phone numbers passport numbers and passwords stored as unsalted MD5 hashes among troves of other jobseeker data.

About Protemps

Protemps 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 Protemps 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.

Reported or suspected access method:
  • Under investigation

Breach Exploitation Status

Threat Activity:
High
Signal
Status
Dark web marketplace listings
Detected
Credential stuffing list overlap
Detected
Phishing campaign relevance
Detected
Ransomware affiliate crossover
Unknown
Law enforcement investigation visibility
Unknown

Data Longevity:
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

Data observed in the leaked dataset:
Email
Genders
Job applications
Marital statuses
Names
Nationalities
Passport numbers
Passwords
Phone numbers
Physical addresses
Religions
Salutations
Not confirmed in dataset:
Social Security Numbers
Payment card data

Dark Web Verification

Status: Confirmed

  • Dataset containing approximately 50K+ 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.

Primary downstream threats include:
  • Targeted phishing referencing Protemps 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
  • Data broker enrichment and resale

Recommendations for Impacted Individuals

If you believe your information may be included:

Check Your Exposure
If you are an ObscureIQ client, this breach has been indexed into your exposure profile.
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.
Expect Targeted Phishing
Watch for messages referencing:
Protemps account updates
Password reset requests
Verify directly through official channels.
Secure Your Email and MFA
Enable MFA immediately on email first, then financial platforms.
Email compromise is often the first pivot point.
Rotate Reused Passwords
Change any credentials shared with your Protemps account across other services.
Monitor Financial Accounts
Monitor accounts associated with your exposed email for unauthorized activity.
Suppress Personal Data
Remove exposed addresses, phone numbers, and enrichment data from broker networks and search engines.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the Protemps data breach?

In Oct, 2021, Protemps experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of approximately 50K+ records containing personal information.

What data was exposed in the Protemps breach?

The exposed data includes Email, Genders, Job applications, Marital statuses, Names, Nationalities, Passport numbers, Passwords, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Religions, Salutations.

How many records were affected in the Protemps breach?

Approximately 50K+ records were affected based on current breach intelligence.

Is the Protemps breach confirmed?

Yes. This breach is treated as confirmed based on data observed in breach intelligence platforms.

Is the Protemps breach data being used by criminals?

Data circulation has been detected across breach-sharing channels. Downstream exploitation risk exists based on the nature of the exposed fields.

What should I do if I was affected by the Protemps breach?

Rotate passwords associated with Protemps, 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.

If you are:
  • A public-facing individual
  • A high-profile executive
  • A customer of Protemps
  • Or simply concerned about credential reuse

We can confirm whether your information is circulating and evaluate downstream threat vectors.

Services
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Classification Tags

Data Exfiltration
Government ID
Passwords
Email
Phone
Address