HIGH SEVERITYStreaming

START Data Breach

Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence

7.5Severity
7.5MRecords
4Data Fields
2021Year

Impact & Downstream Threats

This breach carries high risk due to the nature of exposed data fields and the scale of affected records.

Primary downstream threats:
  • Credential stuffing against reused passwords across other platforms
  • Targeted phishing campaigns using exposed email addresses
  • Doxxing risk from physical address exposure

Breach Intelligence

EntitySTART
Breach DateJune 2021
DisclosureAugust 2022
Records Exposed~7.5M
Attack VectorUnknown
SourceHave I Been Pwned / ObscureIQ intelligence
StatusConfirmed

Executive Summary

In August 2022, news broke of an attack against the Russian streaming service "START". The incident led to the exposure of 44M records containing 7.4M unique email addresses. The impacted data also included the subscriber's country and password hash. START subsequently acknowledged the incident in a Telegram post and stated that the data dated back to 2021.

About START

START is an organization whose data was exposed in this breach. The dataset has been verified by ObscureIQ intelligence and indexed across breach notification platforms.

Data Points Exposed

Verified fields in the released dataset:
Email addresses
Full names
Passwords

Dark Web Verification

Status: Confirmed

  • Dataset containing approximately 7.5M 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.

Change Passwords
Change your START password immediately and any account sharing similar credentials.
Expect Targeted Phishing
Watch for emails referencing this breach. Verify communications through official channels.
Secure Email & Enable MFA
Email compromise is often the first pivot point. Enable multi-factor authentication.
Monitor Financial Accounts
Watch for unauthorized credit applications and suspicious activity.
Check Your Exposure
ObscureIQ clients: this breach is indexed in your profile.
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the START data breach?

In June 2021, START experienced a data breach that exposed approximately 7.5M records containing personal information.

What data was exposed?

The exposed data includes fields such as email address, full name, geographic locations, password.

How many records were affected?

Approximately 7.5M records were affected based on current breach intelligence.

Protect Yourself

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ObscureIQ Advisory

We combine proprietary dark web access with commercial and restricted breach intelligence to verify exposure and assess real-world risk.

If you are:
  • A public-facing individual
  • A high-profile executive
  • A customer of START
  • Or concerned about credential reuse
Services
AuditsWipesThreat MonitoringTraining

Classification Tags

StreamingEmailPasswords

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