BlankMediaGames 2018 Data Breach
Company · Video game development · Indie game studio · USA
BlankMediaGames Town of Salem Developer Breach (2018): 7.8 Million Player Accounts Including Purchase History & Website Activity Exposed
Indie game development studio.
Confirmed · ObscureIQ Intelligence
Breach Risk Index i
30/100
Lower riskHigher risk
Lower: limited current risk based on data value and recency.
Data Sensitivity i
StandardExposed data is largely lower-sensitivity. Standard identity-protection precautions are advised.
7.8MRecords
2018Year
The Breach Risk Index (BRI) is a proprietary 0–100 score rating how dangerous a breach is right now, based on how recently the data has been circulating on the dark web and how valuable it is to attackers.
Breach Summary
In December 2018, BlankMediaGames, developer of the online game Town of Salem, suffered a data breach after attackers exploited vulnerabilities in its phpBB forum software (and administrative password reuse), compromising the game database. It exposed ~7.6-7.8 million unique email addresses along with usernames, IP addresses, purchase histories, website activity, browser user-agent details, phpass password hashes, and (per reporting) birthdates and physical addresses. The data was provided to Have I Been Pwned; roughly 27% of passwords were cracked quickly. Town of Salems younger player base means some affected users may be minors.
Full threat analysis, exploitation vectors, and principal guidance below.
10 additional sections · verified field analysis · defensive doctrine
Querying breach corpus…
Cross-referencing exposed field types…
Resolving threat-actor attribution…
Compiling principal risk advisory…
7.8M records analyzed
About BlankMediaGames
BlankMediaGames (blankmediagames.com) is the independent developer of the popular online social-deduction game Town of Salem. It maintained player account, purchase, and activity records on its game website.
Why They Hold Your Data
Game studios collect player accounts, emails, usernames, passwords, purchase history, and gameplay-community records across online multiplayer and publishing systems.
Recent Developments
In December 2018, BlankMediaGames Town of Salem website was hacked via vulnerabilities in its phpBB forum software (compounded by administrative password reuse), exposing ~7.6-7.8 million players. The data was provided to Have I Been Pwned; roughly 27% of passwords were cracked quickly.
Data Points Exposed
7 verified field types
Activity History
Email Address
IP Address
Password High
Transaction History
User Agent
Username
Breach Impact
The exposure of emails, usernames, IP addresses, phpass password hashes, purchase histories, website activity, and (per reporting) birthdates and physical addresses for ~7.8 million players enables credential-stuffing, account-takeover, and targeted phishing. Town of Salem has a substantial younger player base, so some affected individuals may be minors, raising added sensitivity.
Exploitation & Downstream Threats
• Credential stuffing and account takeover against reused passwords (phpass; ~27% cracked) | • Targeted phishing using exposed emails and purchase history | • Heightened sensitivity where affected players are minors | • Account/profile enrichment via website activity and user-agent data
Principal Risk Advisory
What this means for a principal
A consumer-service breach: contact and account data supports phishing, account takeover and profile enrichment. For a high-profile principal the main risk is credible impersonation and enrichment of existing exposure.
What You Should Do
- Reset any reused passwords and enable MFA on email first, then financial accounts.
- Do not use unofficial 'am I affected' lookups; several are themselves harvesting operations.
How ObscureIQ Can Help
- Corpus confirmation: determine whether and where the principal (plus household and staff) appear in this dataset and which specific fields are exposed for them.
- Exposure mapping: cross-reference the exposed identifiers against broker-available data to size and prioritize the principal's wider footprint.
- ThreatWatch tuned to this incident's identifiers and misuse pattern (impersonation and targeting patterns, not generic credential monitoring).
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