MyRecon OSINTLuxottica
Behind the exposed accounts
In March 2021, the world's largest eyewear company Luxoticca suffered a data breach via one of their partners that exposed the personal information of more than 70M people .
Follow the story
On 16 March 2021, Luxottica was breached. 77,093,812 accounts were exposed, including dates of birth, email addresses, genders. MyRecon rates it 77/100, severe. That is roughly everyone in the United Kingdom.
How the story unfolded
Open a step to read the detail. Missing dates stay unknown.
02Entry point
The published account does not explain the exact way the data was obtained.
03Discovery and disclosure
A separate discovery or company-disclosure date is not established by this feed record.
04Added to the breach catalogue
2023-05-19. This is the catalogue date, not necessarily the disclosure date.
05Reported outcome
77,093,812 accounts are listed in this breach. This is a count of accounts, not necessarily individual people. The reported exposed data includes Dates of birth, Email addresses, Genders, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses.
Two details in this record deserve more attention than the headline number. The first is that it happened through a partner, which meant the 70 million people in the file had no relationship with the company whose name is on it, they bought glasses from a brand Luxottica owns, or had an eye test at an optician it supplies.
The second is the interval. The intrusion dates to March 2021. The data was sold on a hacking forum in late 2022. For roughly eighteen months the exposure existed and there was nothing for anyone in it to read, act on or be notified about. A company's statement that it is "considering other notification obligations" is the sound that gap makes.
Nothing in the exposed fields can be changed. Name, date of birth, address, phone number and gender are the permanent identifiers, and the practical consequence is a phone call, some years later, from somebody who already knows all five.
The story behind the breach
In March 2021, the world's largest eyewear company Luxoticca suffered a data breach via one of their partners that exposed the personal information of more than 70M people . The data was subsequently sold via a popular hacking forum in late 2022 and included email and physical addresses, names, genders, dates of birth and phone numbers.
In a statement from Luxottica, they advised they were aware of the incident and are currently "considering other notification obligations".
Breach description from Have I Been Pwned, used under a CC BY 4.0 licence.
How did it happen?
The published account does not explain the exact way the data was obtained.
What was the motive?
The published account does not establish the motive. We cannot tell what the attackers intended from the exposed data alone.
Reported demands or attempts to sell data describe what happened, rather than prove every attacker's intention.
What was the outcome?
77,093,812 accounts are listed in this breach. This is a count of accounts, not necessarily individual people.
The reported exposed data includes Dates of birth, Email addresses, Genders, Names, Phone numbers, Physical addresses.
What was exposed, and why it matters
Dates of birth
One of the three things call centres ask to verify identity, and it never changes.
Email addresses
The address becomes a confirmed, active target, expect more phishing, better aimed.
Genders
Small on its own; useful to anyone assembling a fuller profile.
Names
Turns an anonymous address into an identified person, which is what makes targeted phishing possible.
Phone numbers
Enables SIM-swap attacks against SMS two-factor codes, and puts the number on scam-call lists indefinitely.
Physical addresses
Where someone actually lives. Combined with a name this moves the risk off the internet.
What to do if you were in it
Questions people ask about this breach
Was my email address in the Luxottica breach?
Use the email box on this page. The result applies only to this incident. If the provider does not cover this breach, we say so. A missing match does not prove you were unaffected.
What data was leaked in the Luxottica breach?
dates of birth, email addresses, genders, names, phone numbers, physical addresses. Each one is explained above, along with what it means for the person it belongs to.
When did it happen, and when did it become public?
The breach is dated 16 March 2021. It was published to Have I Been Pwned on 19 May 2023, a gap of 795 days during which the data was already out.
Is the Luxottica breach real?
Yes. Have I Been Pwned lists it as verified, meaning the data was checked against the source rather than taken on trust.
How many people were affected?
77,093,812 accounts. That is roughly everyone in the United Kingdom. That is accounts rather than people, one person often has several.
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Three kinds of content appear on this page and they are kept apart deliberately. The breach description is quoted from Have I Been Pwned under its licence. The severity score, the field-by-field explanation and the advice are computed from the record itself, every sentence derives from a number or a flag in it, which is what stops the analysis drifting from the evidence. Anything under the "MyRecon's take" byline is editorial: our reading of this breach, presented as opinion rather than as a finding.