MDPI
MEDIUM RISKData breach — August 2016
In August 2016, the Swiss scholarly open access publisher known as MDPI had 17.5GB of data obtained from an unprotected Mongo DB instance. The data contained email exchanges between MDPI and their authors and reviewers which included 845k unique email addresses. MDPI have confirmed that the system has since been protected and that no data of a sensitive nature was impacted. As such, they concluded that notification to their subscribers was not necessary due to the fact that all their authors and reviewers are available online on their website.
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What happened in the MDPI data breach?
In August 2016, the Swiss scholarly open access publisher known as MDPI had 17.5GB of data obtained from an unprotected Mongo DB instance. The data contained email exchanges between MDPI and their authors and reviewers which included 845k unique email addresses. MDPI have confirmed that the system has since been protected and that no data of a sensitive nature was impacted. As such, they concluded that notification to their subscribers was not necessary due to the fact that all their authors and reviewers are available online on their website.
The exposed data included 4 types of personal information. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was MDPI hacked?
Yes. MDPI was breached in August 2016. The breach exposed 845,012 records including email addresses, email messages, ip addresses. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
Why was the MDPI breach so dangerous?
The MDPI breach exposed 845,012 records — that is a large number of compromised accounts. The combination of email addresses, email messages, ip addresses makes this a medium-risk breach that should be addressed promptly.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the MDPI breach?
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Email messages — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
IP addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Is the MDPI breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the MDPI breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Research shows that over 65% of stolen credentials from older breaches have never been changed by the account holders. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2016 are still actively used in credential stuffing attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth never expire. Even if you changed your MDPI password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn more about how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Frequently asked about the MDPI breach
Approximately 845,012 user records were exposed in the MDPI breach in August 2016.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your MDPI password elsewhere and haven't changed it, those accounts remain at risk today.
Enter your email in the free checker on EmailLeaked. We scan 12 billion+ breach records including the full MDPI dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your MDPI password immediately, change any other account where you used the same password, enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts, and monitor for phishing emails over the next 90 days.
Who was affected by the MDPI breach?
The MDPI data breach affected approximately 845,012 users who had accounts with the service. While not the largest breach on record, it still represents a significant number of compromised accounts in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with MDPI or used their services, your data may have been included in this breach. Check your email now to find out. You can also read our guide on what to do immediately after a data breach.
If your email was in the MDPI breach
Change your MDPI password immediately
Go to MDPI and change your password right now. Use a strong, unique password that you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you used the same password on other sites, change it on every one of them. Attackers test stolen credentials on hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on MDPI and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot get in without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email check to see every breach your email appears in — not just this one.
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