Impact & Downstream Threats
This breach carries high risk due to the nature of exposed data fields and the scale of affected records.
- Credential stuffing against reused passwords across other platforms
- Targeted phishing campaigns using exposed email addresses
Breach Intelligence
Executive Summary
In February 2014, Kickstarter, the renowned crowdfunding platform, fell victim to a significant data breach that compromised the personal information of approximately 5.2 million users. The breach was discovered when law enforcement officials alerted Kickstarter to unauthorized access of their systems. ,
, The exposed data encompassed usernames, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and encrypted passwords. While no credit card information was accessed, the breach raised concerns due to the potential for encrypted passwords to be deciphered, especially if they were weak or commonly used. Kickstarter employed different encryption methods over time, with older passwords protected by salted SHA-1 hashing and more recent ones by bcrypt.,
About Kickstarter
Crowdfunding platform for creative projects.
Data Points Exposed
Dark Web Verification
Status: Confirmed
- Dataset containing approximately 5.2M records identified in breach intelligence sources.
- The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.
Recommended Actions
⚠️ Do not assume this is low sensitivity.
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.
Frequently Asked Questions
In February 2014, Kickstarter experienced a data breach that exposed approximately 5.2M records containing personal information.
The exposed data includes fields such as email address, password.
Approximately 5.2M records were affected based on current breach intelligence.
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- A public-facing individual
- A high-profile executive
- A customer of Kickstarter
- Or concerned about credential reuse
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