Zomato 2017 Data Breach
ObscureIQ Breach Intelligence
Low SeverityWebsite / service breach
Zomato Restaurant Discovery Platform Breach (2017): 16.5 Million User Accounts Including Passwords Exposed
Restaurant discovery and delivery platform.
Verified by ObscureIQ Intelligence
12/100Breach Risk Index
5Data Value
10Market Recency
3229dSince Breach
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: Zomato · Actor: Nclay (claimed) · Sources: 9 references
Attack: Credential Theft
Profile: Platform · Restaurant discovery and food delivery · Marketplace + logistics network · India / Global
Timeline: Breach (2017-05-17) · Indexed (Sep 04, 2017) · Year (2017)
Exposure: 16.5M records · 3 fields: Email Address, Password, Username
Status: Confirmed
Executive Summary
In May 2017, Zomato was breached and nearly 17 million accounts were redistributed online. Exposed data included user IDs, names, usernames, email addresses, and passwords stored as salted MD5 hashes. Zomato said the incident stemmed from a compromised employee development account; a hacker using the name "Nclay" claimed responsibility.
ObscureIQ assessment: Exposure enables phishing, order fraud, delivery impersonation, and household targeting. Dining and address data can also reveal routines, social habits, and consumer preferences.
Breach Impact
Salted-MD5 passwords are partly recoverable, exposing reused credentials to stuffing; Zomato’s password scheme with per-user salt and multiple iterations slowed but did not eliminate cracking.
About Zomato
Zomato is a major Indian restaurant-discovery and food-delivery platform serving millions of users.
Why They Hold Your Data
Restaurant-discovery and food-delivery platforms collect customer identity, phone numbers, addresses, payment-adjacent data, order history, and dining behavior across marketplace and logistics workflows.
Recent Developments
Zomato attributed the breach to a compromised employee development account and worked with the hacker, who withdrew the data from sale.
Data Points Exposed
3 verified field types
Email 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:
- Phishing, credential stuffing & account takeover
- Credential stuffing & account takeover
- Cross-platform tracking & credential stuffing
Threat Actor: Nclay (claimed)
Nclay (claimed)
Credential Theft
Attribution and method are based on available breach intelligence. Reported attack vector: Credential Theft.
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 Zomato breach?▾
In May 2017, Zomato was breached and nearly 17 million accounts were redistributed online. Exposed data included user IDs, names, usernames, email addresses, and passwords stored as salted MD5 hashes. Zomato said the incident stemmed from a compromised employee development account; a hacker using…
What data was exposed?▾
Verified fields include Email 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
Breach Index
Cross-source
9ghz
Cross-source
BreachForums_Official_Index
Cross-source
DataViper.io
Cross-source
Dehashed
Cross-source
Keeper
Cross-source
leakfind
ObscureIQ Intelligence
ObscureIQ proprietary analysis
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