Technology
Scraped records of over 7.3M Chess.com users posted online
A forum user released a 15.5 GB data file containing millions of user records, according to Hacker News.
The short version
- A 15.5 GB database file containing over 7.3 million Chess.com user records was posted for free on two data-leak forums.[Hacker News]
- Analysis indicates the collection consists of real data gathered via automated scraping rather than a direct database breach.[Hacker News]
- The exposed file contains no passwords, password hashes, or financial payment details, though it includes marketing and profile fields.[Hacker News]
Key facts
- A 15.5 GB archive containing 7,337,395 records was posted without financial demands on two separate data-leak forums.[Hacker News]
- The archive includes no passwords, password hashes, or financial payment details.[Hacker News]
- Data collection occurred in daily batches across nine straight days, and roughly 7.4% of the entries are duplicates.[Hacker News]
- Researchers confirmed the dataset's authenticity by matching embedded UUID timestamps against registration dates across 200,000 accounts.[Hacker News]
- Advertising-audience segment fields are included in every row, suggesting access to an internal or authenticated endpoint.[Hacker News]
What remains uncertain
- The exact internal endpoint or mechanism used to retrieve the internal ad-segment data remains unconfirmed.[Hacker News]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.