Patreon

In October 2015 the crowdfunding platform Patreon suffered a massive security breach after a development server was left exposed. An attacker gained access to the database and exfiltrated approximately 15 gigabytes of internal data. The leaked information included user records, private messages, and source code. Security researchers confirmed that over 2.3 million unique email addresses were compromised alongside bcrypt hashed passwords and shipping addresses for creators and patrons. The incident highlighted vulnerabilities in staging environments and led to a complete security overhaul by the company to protect user privacy and financial interactions.