In 2012, a stolen employee password was used to access an internal Dropbox document containing user email addresses, which attackers then used for spam campaigns. The full scope was not revealed until 2016, when it became clear that 68.7 million email addresses and hashed passwords had been exposed in the same incident.
Quick answer — was Dropbox breached?
Yes. Dropbox was breached in July 2012, exposing 68,648,009 records including email addresses, passwords. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
In 2012, a stolen employee password was used to access an internal Dropbox document containing user email addresses, which attackers then used for spam campaigns. The full scope was not revealed until 2016, when it became clear that 68.7 million email addresses and hashed passwords had been exposed in the same incident.
Passwords stored at the time of the breach were hashed with bcrypt for newer accounts and SHA-1 for older ones. While bcrypt resists bulk cracking, the SHA-1 hashes were more vulnerable. Dropbox forced password resets for all accounts that had not updated their credentials since mid-2012.
The Dropbox breach originated through password reuse — the attacker used credentials stolen from a separate breach to access an employee's Dropbox account, making it a direct demonstration of how a breach at one service can cascade into an attack on another. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Passwords stored at the time of the breach were hashed with bcrypt for newer accounts and SHA-1 for older ones. While bcrypt resists bulk cracking, the SHA-1 hashes were more vulnerable. Dropbox forced password resets for all accounts that had not updated their credentials since mid-2012.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach.
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Passwords — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Mid-2012
An attacker uses a Dropbox employee's credentials — reused from a separate breach at another service — to log in to the employee's Dropbox account and access an internal project document containing customer email addresses
July 2012
Dropbox customers begin reporting unsolicited spam to the email addresses they registered with Dropbox — the first public evidence that email data was accessed
August 2012
Dropbox publicly acknowledges the breach, attributing the spam to access via the employee account; the company believes at this point that only email addresses were accessed
August 2016
A database of 68.7 million email addresses and hashed passwords from the 2012 incident appears for sale on the dark web; the full scope of the original breach is confirmed for the first time
August 2016
Dropbox forces password resets for all accounts where credentials had not been updated since mid-2012
Yes. Stolen data from the Dropbox breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2012 are still actively used in automated attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth does not expire. Even if you changed your Dropbox password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Change your Dropbox password immediately
Log into Dropbox and change your password to something strong and unique — one you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you reused this password elsewhere, change it on every affected account. Attackers test stolen credentials against hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on Dropbox and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot access the account without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email scan to see every breach your address appears in — not just this one.
Check all my breaches — freeBreach pages are built from structured breach records and reviewed for practical risk guidance by EmailLeaked. Risk labels reflect exposed data types and are intended to help readers prioritise action.
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