Breach Database / Appen

Yes — Appen was breached.

What happened

In June 2020, the AI training data company Appen suffered a data breach exposing the details of almost 5.9 million users which were subsequently sold online. Included in the breach were names, email addresses and passwords stored as bcrypt hashes. Some records also contained phone numbers, employers and IP addresses. The data was provided to HIBP by dehashed.com.

What data was exposed

What to do right now

  1. Change your password for this service now. And change it anywhere you reused the same password — attackers try leaked passwords on other sites within hours ("credential stuffing").
  2. Turn on two-factor authentication. Even a leaked password is useless against an account protected by a second factor. Prefer an authenticator app over SMS.
  3. Be alert for smishing and SIM-swap attempts. Treat unexpected texts and "carrier" calls with suspicion; add a PIN/port-freeze with your mobile carrier.
  4. Expect convincing phishing emails. Attackers use breached details to write personalized emails. Be suspicious of any message referencing this service.
  5. Check your other accounts on Have I Been Pwned. Your email address may appear in other breaches you don't know about yet.
  6. Monitor the apps you use going forward. Clearly watches the breach record for the companies behind your apps and alerts you the moment one appears.

Breach data from Have I Been Pwned. Listing here means the service appears in the public breach record — not that your personal data was affected.