Breach, Threat Management, Data Security, Vulnerability Management

Report: Hacker steals Dutch prostitution forum data

Hookers.nl, a Dutch online forum for prostitutes, escorts and their clientele, has reportedly suffered a data breach that has exposed the details of 250,000 users, whose data is being offered for sale.

Compromised information includes email addresses, usernames, IP addresses and passwords. Usernames are typically aliases but certain real names can likely be derived from the email addresses, reported Netherlands broadcaster NOS, which confirmed the legitimacy of the data set and broke the news this week. NOS compared the incident to the infamous 2015 data breach of cheaters' website Ashley Madison.

The flaw exploited in the Hookers.nl breach was a remote code execution vulnerability in vBulletin software that was patched on Sept. 25.

NOS said that a spokesman for the site, Tom Löbermann, said that "We are not happy with this" because "maybe you [the user] do not want people to know that you have an account here."

Bradley Barth

As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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