Hacking Group ‘ShinyHunters’ Allegedly Breaches Data Security of Pornhub Users
The hacking group “ShinyHunters” announced on Tuesday that it has successfully stolen data from premium customers of the popular adult website Pornhub, threatening to publish this sensitive information.
While Reuters has not yet confirmed the full extent or specifics of the breach, the hackers provided a sample of the stolen data, which the news agency was able to partially verify. At least three former Pornhub customers—two from Canada and one from the United States—confirmed the authenticity of the data related to them, although they noted that it was several years old. These individuals requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.
In an online chat with Reuters, ShinyHunters stated, “We’re demanding a ransom payment in Bitcoin to prevent the publication of [Pornhub] data and delete the data.”
Attempts to reach Pornhub and its parent company, Ethical Capital Partners based in Ottawa, Canada, were unsuccessful. The breach was initially reported by the cybersecurity news site Bleeping Computer.
Pornhub is one of the internet’s most visited adult content platforms, boasting over 100 million daily visits and 36 billion visits annually. The site offers a premium service that includes high-definition videos, ad-free viewing, and virtual reality experiences.
ShinyHunters claimed to have data from 14 users of Pornhub’s premium service. Reuters was able to match details from six individuals in the hackers’ data to information previously leaked online during earlier data breaches, preserved by the dark web intelligence firm District 4 Labs. Three of these individuals confirmed to Reuters that they had once subscribed to Pornhub’s premium service.
As of now, the method by which ShinyHunters obtained the data remains unclear, as the group has declined to provide further details about the breach.
In a statement issued on December 12, Pornhub acknowledged a recent cybersecurity incident involving a third-party data analytics provider, Mixpanel. This incident reportedly affected an undisclosed number of Pornhub Premium users and was said to involve a “limited set of analytics events for some users.”
Mixpanel, which provides detailed insights into user data and activities, reported a cybersecurity incident on November 27. The company stated that it was aware of Pornhub’s announcement but found no evidence linking the stolen data to their November 2025 security incident.
Pornhub’s data with Mixpanel was last accessed by “a legitimate employee account at Pornhub’s parent company in 2023,” according to the statement. “If this data is in the hands of an unauthorized party, we do not believe that is the result of a security incident at Mixpanel.”
ShinyHunters is a well-known hacking group associated with a series of high-profile hacks and extortion attempts in recent months, including data breaches involving customers of Salesforce and luxury retailers in the U.K.
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The hacking group “ShinyHunters” announced on Tuesday that it has successfully stolen data from premium customers of the popular adult website Pornhub, threatening to publish this sensitive information.
While Reuters has not yet confirmed the full extent or specifics of the breach, the hackers provided a sample of the stolen data, which the news agency was able to partially verify. At least three former Pornhub customers—two from Canada and one from the United States—confirmed the authenticity of the data related to them, although they noted that it was several years old. These individuals requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.
In an online chat with Reuters, ShinyHunters stated, “We’re demanding a ransom payment in Bitcoin to prevent the publication of [Pornhub] data and delete the data.”
Attempts to reach Pornhub and its parent company, Ethical Capital Partners based in Ottawa, Canada, were unsuccessful. The breach was initially reported by the cybersecurity news site Bleeping Computer.
Pornhub is one of the internet’s most visited adult content platforms, boasting over 100 million daily visits and 36 billion visits annually. The site offers a premium service that includes high-definition videos, ad-free viewing, and virtual reality experiences.
ShinyHunters claimed to have data from 14 users of Pornhub’s premium service. Reuters was able to match details from six individuals in the hackers’ data to information previously leaked online during earlier data breaches, preserved by the dark web intelligence firm District 4 Labs. Three of these individuals confirmed to Reuters that they had once subscribed to Pornhub’s premium service.
As of now, the method by which ShinyHunters obtained the data remains unclear, as the group has declined to provide further details about the breach.
In a statement issued on December 12, Pornhub acknowledged a recent cybersecurity incident involving a third-party data analytics provider, Mixpanel. This incident reportedly affected an undisclosed number of Pornhub Premium users and was said to involve a “limited set of analytics events for some users.”
Mixpanel, which provides detailed insights into user data and activities, reported a cybersecurity incident on November 27. The company stated that it was aware of Pornhub’s announcement but found no evidence linking the stolen data to their November 2025 security incident.
Pornhub’s data with Mixpanel was last accessed by “a legitimate employee account at Pornhub’s parent company in 2023,” according to the statement. “If this data is in the hands of an unauthorized party, we do not believe that is the result of a security incident at Mixpanel.”
ShinyHunters is a well-known hacking group associated with a series of high-profile hacks and extortion attempts in recent months, including data breaches involving customers of Salesforce and luxury retailers in the U.K.
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