The Botting Network Historical Data Breach Exposes Over 96,000 User Records

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Key Takeaways

• Scale of exposure: Over 96,000 user records from the now-defunct vBulletin forum were exposed.
• Breach timeline: The data breach occurred in August 2012 but was added to the Have I Been Pwned database on December 18, 2025.
• Compromised data: The exfiltrated data includes email addresses, usernames, dates of birth, and salted MD5 password hashes.

A significant historical data breach impacting The Botting Network (TBN), a forum centered on botting and automation-based monetization, has been officially cataloged. The incident, which occurred in August 2012, exposed approximately 96,300 user records, underscoring the persistent threat posed by old, unaddressed security incidents. 

The Botting Network Compromised Data

The compromised information from this vBulletin forum breach was recently added to the breach notification service Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) today. The dataset exfiltrated during the Botting Network data breach contains several types of personally identifiable information (PII). 

Exposed records include:

• User email addresses, 
• Usernames, 
• Dates of birth, 
• User passwords stored as salted MD5 hashes. 

While salting adds a layer of protection, the MD5 hashing algorithm is now considered cryptographically weak and obsolete. This makes the stored password credentials susceptible to modern attacks.

For individuals potentially affected by this historical breach, any passwords reused elsewhere should be considered compromised.

What Was The Botting Network

The Botting Network forum focused on botting tools, automation techniques, and methods for generating income using automated software. The platform catered to users interested in bot-driven online activity but is no longer active. It is often associated with practices that were considered fraudulent.

Mirai, whose new variant ‘ShadowV2’ targeted vulnerable IoT devices to create a botnet for DDoS attacks last month. In the same month, a report highlighted that Android TV boxes were linked to botnet activity.

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