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Data breaches → StarNet

Was your data in the StarNet breach?

2015 · starnet.md · ~139,395 accounts exposedCritical severity · 10/10

StarNet (starnet.md) suffered a data breach in 2015 that exposed around 139,395 accounts. If you had an account, some of your personal data may be circulating in leaked databases. The fastest way to know is to check your own email — free, in about 30 seconds, no password required.

What happened

In February 2015, the Moldavian ISP "StarNet" had it's database published online. The dump included nearly 140k email addresses, many with personal details including contact information, usage patterns of the ISP and even passport numbers.

Breach details sourced from Have I Been Pwned, the industry-standard breach database. Risk analysis by Nullivo.

What was exposed, and why it matters

Not all breaches carry the same risk — what matters is which fields leaked. Here is what the StarNet breach exposed and what each item actually enables:

Government identifiers

The strongest identity-theft material there is — enough to open credit accounts or file fraudulent claims in your name.

Passwords

Attackers replay leaked passwords across other sites (“credential stuffing”). Because most people reuse passwords, one leak often unlocks email, shopping and banking accounts elsewhere.

Dates of birth

Date of birth is a permanent identifier used to verify identity by phone. Combined with a name and address it is often enough to impersonate you.

Phone numbers

Enables SIM-swap attacks (hijacking your number to intercept SMS codes), smishing, and voice scams that appear to come from your bank.

Names and usernames

Links this leak to your other accounts — a reused username lets anyone build a profile of you across platforms.

Email addresses

Puts you on spam and phishing lists, and confirms to attackers that you hold an account with this service — which makes impersonation emails more believable.

IP addresses

Reveals your approximate location and internet provider, which adds credibility to targeted scams.

Also listed in this breach: Customer interactions, Dates of birth, Email addresses, Genders, IP addresses, MAC addresses, Names, Passport numbers, Passwords, Phone numbers.

What to do if you were affected

These steps are ordered for this specific breach — the most urgent action given what leaked comes first.

  1. Government identifiers: Consider a credit freeze or fraud alert with the credit reference agencies, and watch for accounts you did not open.
  2. Passwords: Change this password everywhere you have reused it, starting with your email account — whoever controls your email can reset everything else.
  3. Dates of birth: Never confirm your date of birth to an inbound caller — hang up and dial the organisation back on a published number.
  4. Phone numbers: Move two-factor authentication off SMS to an authenticator app or passkey, and add a port-out PIN with your mobile provider.
  5. Names and usernames: Search your usual username to see what else it exposes, and use distinct handles for sensitive accounts.
  6. Check whether your own email appears in this breach — run a free scan to confirm before you spend time on the steps above.

How urgent is this now?

This breach is over 11 years old. Old credentials still cause harm — leaked passwords from a decade ago are still tried against new accounts every day.

Passwords are the reason breach age matters less than people expect. Leaked credentials are compiled into wordlists that get tried against new services for years afterwards, so a password exposed here is unsafe to use anywhere, ever again.

Remember: a breach can't be "un-leaked" — once a database is out, it exists in countless copies. The goal is to make the leaked data useless: change what can be changed, lock down what can't, and remove what has been republished.

Check if your email was exposed.Nullivo's free scan checks your own verified email against known breaches — including StarNet — in 30 seconds. No password, no signup, and we only ever scan your own email. Run your free scan →

Frequently asked questions

What data was exposed in the StarNet breach?

The StarNet breach exposed government identifiers, passwords, dates of birth, phone numbers, names and usernames, email addresses, ip addresses. The strongest identity-theft material there is — enough to open credit accounts or file fraudulent claims in your name.

How many people were affected by the StarNet breach?

Around 139,395 accounts were exposed, making it a mid-sized breach.

What should I do if I had a StarNet account?

Consider a credit freeze or fraud alert with the credit reference agencies, and watch for accounts you did not open. You can check whether your own email appears in this breach with a free Nullivo scan — no password required.

Breaches that exposed similar data

If the StarNet breach affected you, these breaches exposed comparable information — worth checking too, since leaked datasets are routinely combined.

See all breaches we cover →