Breach Database / NetEase
Yes — NetEase was breached.
- 234.8 million accounts affected
- Breach occurred 2015-10-19 · 163.com
- Unverified entry in the Have I Been Pwned catalog
What happened
In October 2015, the Chinese site known as NetEase (located at 163.com) was reported as having suffered a data breach that impacted hundreds of millions of subscribers. Whilst there is evidence that the data itself is legitimate (multiple HIBP subscribers confirmed a password they use is in the data), due to the difficulty of emphatically verifying the Chinese breach it has been flagged as "unverified". The data in the breach contains email addresses and plain text passwords. Read more about Chinese data breaches in Have I Been Pwned.
What data was exposed
- Email addresses
- Passwords
What to do right now
- 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").
- 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.
- Expect convincing phishing emails. Attackers use breached details to write personalized emails. Be suspicious of any message referencing this service.
- Check your other accounts on Have I Been Pwned. Your email address may appear in other breaches you don't know about yet.
- 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.