PS3Hax

In July 2015, PS3Hax, an online forum dedicated to hacking and modifying Sony's PlayStation 3, was breached, and a large user database from the site ended up in circulation. According to our investigation team, the indexed dataset holds 440,742 records tied to the forum. The site ran on vBulletin, a forum platform whose default password scheme was long considered weak, and independent analyses of the leaked data indicate many of the stored password hashes could be cracked quickly.

Limited public reporting: As of September 25, 2026, detailed company notices or major news coverage for this listing were limited in sources reviewed. The facts below rely primarily on the indexed fields plus any secondary sources cited.

Breach Timeline

June 30 to July 1, 2015: Security tracker HEROIC dates the PS3Hax database exposure to June 30, 2015, while Mozilla Monitor records the breach date as July 1, 2015.

February 7, 2016: The breach was verified and added to Mozilla Monitor's public database of incidents.

What Information Was Compromised?

Our analysis found the following data types in this breach: email addresses, usernames, passwords, IP addresses, and Skype handles. Passwords were present for roughly 367,295 of the records, while email addresses and usernames appear across nearly the full dataset. IP addresses were recorded for about 439,588 entries, and Skype identifiers for 568.

The passwords in this dataset were stored as salted hashes using vBulletin's built-in scheme. Security researchers, including analysts at HEROIC, have described that implementation as weak by modern standards, meaning a substantial share of the passwords can be recovered by anyone who obtains the data.

Not every individual is affected by every type of data listed here.

What Are the Potential Risks for Affected Individuals?

The most immediate risk is account compromise. Forum members often reuse passwords across sites, so a cracked PS3Hax password may also unlock an email account, a shopping site, or a social media profile. Attackers routinely feed large credential lists like this one into automated "credential stuffing" tools that test the same email and password combinations against hundreds of other services.

The email addresses themselves support phishing. A message that cites PS3Hax or PlayStation themes can look credible to former forum members, and the inclusion of usernames makes targeted lures easier to craft. IP addresses reveal approximate locations and internet providers, which adds context for social engineering. Skype handles, though present in only a small number of records, can expose usernames linked to Microsoft accounts. No evidence in the indexed fields indicates financial data was involved.

What Should You Do If You Were Affected?

If you had an account on ps3hax.net, change that password immediately if the account still exists, and change the same password anywhere else you used it. Prioritize your primary email account, since it controls password resets for nearly everything else.

Enable two-factor authentication on your email and other important accounts so a stolen password alone is not enough to get in. Choose passwords that are long and unique per site, and consider a password manager to keep track of them. Stay alert for phishing emails that reference PS3Hax, PlayStation, or a supposed security alert, and never enter credentials through a link in an unexpected message.