8tracks 2017 Data Breach
ObscureIQ Breach Intelligence
Low SeverityWebsite / service breach
8tracks Music Playlist Streaming Platform Breach (2017): 18 Million User Accounts Including Passwords Exposed via Compromised GitHub Account
Music playlist streaming platform (now defunct)
Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence
23/100Breach Risk Index
5Data Value
25Market Recency
584dSince Breach
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: 8tracks · Actor: Unknown · Sources: 8 references
Attack: Credential Theft
Profile: Platform · Music streaming, playlists, and user-generated listening services · Playlist streaming platform · Global
Timeline: Breach (2017-06-27) · Indexed (Dec 01, 2024) · Year (2017)
Exposure: 18.7M records · 2 fields: Email Address, Password
Status: Confirmed
Executive Summary
In June 2017, 8tracks disclosed a breach affecting roughly 18 million accounts (17,973,712 records). The company stated the attack vector was an employee GitHub account that was not protected with two-factor authentication. Exposed data included usernames, email addresses, and passwords stored as salted SHA-1 hashes with their salts. Only email/password registrations were affected, not Google/Facebook logins.
ObscureIQ assessment: Exposure enables account takeover, phishing, and profiling based on music preferences and long-term listening behavior. Playlist activity can also reveal emotional, cultural, or identity signals.
Breach Impact
Salted SHA-1 slowed but did not prevent recovery of weak passwords, exposing reused credentials to stuffing attacks on other services.
About 8tracks
8tracks was an online playlist and internet-radio service that let users create and share curated music mixes with a large community.
Why They Hold Your Data
Playlist-streaming platforms collect user accounts, emails, listening history, playlist creation records, and social activity tied to music discovery and curation workflows.
Recent Developments
8tracks later wound down operations. Accounts that used Google or Facebook sign-in were not affected, as only traditional email/password registrations were exposed.
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 8tracks breach?▾
In June 2017, 8tracks disclosed a breach affecting roughly 18 million accounts (17,973,712 records). The company stated the attack vector was an employee GitHub account that was not protected with two-factor authentication. Exposed data included usernames, email addresses, and passwords stored as…
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
DataViper.io
Cross-source
Keeper
Cross-source
leakfind
ObscureIQ Intelligence
ObscureIQ proprietary analysis
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