Civil Online 2011 Data Breach
ObscureIQ Breach Intelligence
Low SeverityWebsite / service breach
Civil Online Chinese Engineering Portal Breach (2011): 7.8 Million User Accounts Exposed :: Authenticity Unverified
Chinese civil engineering community platform
Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence
14/100Breach Risk Index
6Data Value
10Market Recency
3530dSince Breach
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: Civil Online · Actor: Unknown · Sources: 4 references
Attack: Unknown
Profile: Online Community · Engineering discussion and professional community content · Civil engineering forum · China
Timeline: Breach (2011-07-10) · Indexed (Nov 07, 2016) · Year (2011)
Exposure: 7.8M records · 5 fields: Activity History, Email Address, IP Address, Password, Username
Status: Unverified
Executive Summary
A dataset allegedly from the Chinese civil-engineering site Civil Online, dated to mid-2011, contains about 7.8 million accounts with email addresses, IP addresses, usernames, and MD5 password hashes. HIBP notes evidence the data is legitimate but lists it as unverified due to the difficulty of confirming Chinese breaches.
ObscureIQ assessment: Exposure enables phishing, account takeover, and profiling of professional expertise or employer affiliation. Technical discussions may also help attackers map engineering or infrastructure interests.
Breach Impact
MD5 hashes are readily cracked, so if accurate the data exposes usable credentials and supports credential stuffing across the professional user base.
About Civil Online
Civil Online is a Chinese civil-engineering community and information website serving engineering professionals and students.
Why They Hold Your Data
Professional engineering forums collect user accounts, emails, discussion history, and content-engagement records tied to civil engineering and technical exchange.
Recent Developments
The leaked dataset dates to the 2011 wave of Chinese site breaches; provenance could not be conclusively verified.
Data Points Exposed
5 verified field types
Activity History
Email Address
IP Address
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:Moderate
Primary downstream threats:
- Credential stuffing against reused passwords across other platforms
- Targeted phishing campaigns using exposed email addresses
Threat vectors:
- Behavioural profiling & blackmail
- Phishing, credential stuffing & account takeover
- Geolocation & account flagging
- Credential stuffing & account takeover
- Cross-platform tracking & credential stuffing
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 Civil Online breach?▾
A dataset allegedly from the Chinese civil-engineering site Civil Online, dated to mid-2011, contains about 7.8 million accounts with email addresses, IP addresses, usernames, and MD5 password hashes. HIBP notes evidence the data is legitimate but lists it as unverified due to the difficulty of…
What data was exposed?▾
Verified fields include Activity History, Email Address, IP Address, 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
Cross-source
9ghz
Cross-source
BreachForums_Official_Index
ObscureIQ Intelligence
ObscureIQ proprietary analysis
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