Brinztech Alert: Alleged Database of Vietnamese Citizens is on Sale (1.38 Million Records)

Dark Web News Analysis

A threat actor on a known cybercrime forum is advertising the sale of a database allegedly containing 1,383,591 records of Vietnamese citizens. The dataset is being offered for a notably low price of $50 via Telegram.

Brinztech Analysis:

• The Target: While the specific source is not named in this initial listing, the volume (1.38M records) and data types suggest a breach of a mid-sized e-commerce platform, fintech service, or loyalty program.
• The Data: The leaked fields reportedly include Names, Phone Numbers, and Email Addresses. While lacking passwords or national IDs (CCCD), this combination is highly effective for social engineering.
• The Context: This listing surfaces amidst a severe cyber-crisis in Vietnam. Throughout Q3/Q4 2025, Vietnam has faced massive data breaches, including the 160 million record leak from the National Credit Information Center (CIC) and a 23 million record breach of Vietnam Airlines.
• The Price: The $50 price point is extremely low. This indicates the data is likely either:
  1. Recycled/Combolist: A subset of a larger previous breach (like the CIC or Facebook leaks) being resold.
  2. Low-Quality Scrape: Data scraped from public directories or marketing lists rather than a deep system hack.

Key Cybersecurity Insights

This alleged data breach presents a persistent threat to Vietnamese citizens:

• Low Barrier to Entry: The $50 price tag democratizes access to this data. Even low-level scammers can afford to buy this list to fuel SMS Spam (Smishing) and phishing campaigns targeting 1.3 million people.
• Cumulative Risk: While this specific leak may not contain financial data, when combined with the massive CIC leak (which exposed credit history), attackers can build comprehensive profiles to commit identity theft and loan fraud.
• High Phishing Potential: The combination of names, emails, and phone numbers allows attackers to launch multi-channel attacks. For example, sending a phishing email followed by a fake “bank verification” call (vishing) to the same victim.
• Regulatory Pressure: This sale highlights the ongoing challenge for Vietnam’s cybersecurity agencies (A05, VNCERT) in stemming the flow of citizen data on the dark web, despite increased investigations.

Mitigation Strategies

In response to this claim, organizations and citizens in Vietnam must take defensive action:

• Enhanced Authentication: Users should enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on all accounts. Do not rely on SMS 2FA, as phone numbers are compromised. Use app-based authenticators.
• Phishing Awareness: Be skeptical of unsolicited emails or calls. Never click links in SMS messages claiming to be from banks or government agencies.
• Password Hygiene: If you suspect your email is in this list, change your passwords. Do not reuse passwords across sites.
• Monitoring: Organizations should monitor for their corporate domains in this dataset to identify potential employee targeting.

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