NewSea

NewSea, also known by the domain newseasims.com, is a gaming‑focused website that provides custom content for a popular simulation game series. The organisation is headquartered in the United States of America and operates independently from the official developer of the game. Its core service revolves around hosting user‑generated modifications, maps, and assets that players can download and integrate into the game.

In September 2016 the site suffered a security breach when an attacker identified as “Websites Hunter” exploited an SQL injection vulnerability. The incident resulted in the theft of approximately 118,000 user accounts, exposing usernames, first and last names, dates of birth, gender, country, and email addresses. Passwords were stored using unsalted MD5 hashing, which allowed the attacker to recover many of them. Analysis of the leaked data confirmed over 117,000 unique email addresses were among the compromised records.

The stolen database was subsequently made available for public download on a file‑sharing service, amplifying the impact of the breach. NewSea’s specialization in user‑generated content for a simulation title distinguished it from official channels, but its reliance on outdated password hashing highlighted a notable security weakness. The organisation’s independence from the game’s developer meant it was not covered by the vendor’s security programmes or incident response procedures. These factors together shape its profile as a niche community platform that experienced a significant data exposure incident.