500px 2018 Data Breach
ObscureIQ Breach Intelligence
Low SeverityWebsite / service breach
500px Photography Community Breach (2018): 14 Million User Accounts Including Passwords, DOB & Location Exposed
Online photography community and marketplace.
Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence
23/100Breach Risk Index
5Data Value
25Market Recency
584dSince Breach
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: 500px · Actor: GnosticPlayers · Sources: 6 references
Attack: Unknown
Profile: Platform · Photography sharing and licensing · Creative content marketplace · Global
Timeline: Breach (2018-07-05) · Indexed (Dec 01, 2024) · Year (2018)
Exposure: 14.9M records · 7 fields: Date of Birth, Email Address, Full Name, Gender, Geographic Location, Password, Username
Status: Confirmed
Executive Summary
In July 2018, the photography community 500px suffered a data breach (discovered February 2019) exposing almost 14.9 million unique accounts. Exposed data included names, usernames, email addresses, genders, dates of birth, and passwords stored as MD5 or bcrypt hashes. The data surfaced in 2019 within the large multi-site collection sold by the actor known as GnosticPlayers, who publicly claimed responsibility.
ObscureIQ assessment: Exposure enables account takeover, phishing, creator impersonation, and theft or misuse of licensing opportunities. Portfolio activity can also reveal professional identity and location clues.
Breach Impact
In July 2018, the photography community 500px suffered a data breach (discovered February 2019) exposing almost 14.9 million unique accounts. Exposed data included names, usernames, email addresses, genders, dates of birth, and passwords stored as MD5 or bcrypt hashes. The data surfaced in 2019 within the large multi-site collection sold by the actor known as GnosticPlayers, who publicly claimed responsibility.
About 500px
Online photography community and marketplace.
Why They Hold Your Data
Photography-sharing and licensing platforms collect user accounts, emails, portfolio data, licensing activity, social relationships, and engagement records tied to creative publishing workflows.
Data Points Exposed
7 verified field types
Date of Birth High
Email Address
Full Name High
Gender
Geographic Location
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:Critical
Primary downstream threats:
- Credential stuffing against reused passwords across other platforms
- Identity verification bypass using name + date of birth combination
- Targeted phishing campaigns using exposed email addresses
- Doxxing risk from physical address exposure
Threat vectors:
- Identity verification bypass
- Phishing, credential stuffing & account takeover
- Name-based social engineering
- Profile enrichment
- Pattern-of-life analysis & physical surveillance
- Credential stuffing & account takeover
- Cross-platform tracking & credential stuffing
Threat Actor: GnosticPlayers
GnosticPlayers
Unknown
Attribution and method are based on available breach intelligence. Reported attack vector: Unknown.
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 500px breach?▾
In July 2018, the photography community 500px suffered a data breach (discovered February 2019) exposing almost 14.9 million unique accounts. Exposed data included names, usernames, email addresses, genders, dates of birth, and passwords stored as MD5 or bcrypt hashes. The data surfaced in 2019…
What data was exposed?▾
Verified fields include Date of Birth, Email Address, Full Name, Gender, Geographic Location, 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
Dehashed
Cross-source
leakfind
ObscureIQ Intelligence
ObscureIQ proprietary analysis
Protect Yourself
Check If You're Affected
Enter your email to check whether your data appears in this breach. We’ll send a 6-digit code to confirm it’s your address.
Get Free Breach Alerts
Be the first to know when new breaches are disclosed. Free forever — confirm your email with a 6-digit code.
High-Risk? Get an Exposure Audit
Executives, public figures, and high-visibility operators can receive tailored exposure intelligence and hardening guidance.
Request Consultation