How do I check if my email or password was in a data breach?
Short answer
Search your email address on a breach notification service such as Have I Been Pwned, and check whether your password manager offers breach alerts. If an address appears in a breach, change that service’s password and any account where you reused it, and turn on multi-factor authentication.
The details
Appearing in a breach does not always mean your password leaked; some breaches expose only names, emails or phone numbers. Read what data was exposed, then expect more targeted phishing using those details.
What to do
- Check your addresses on a breach notification service.
- Change passwords for the breached service and any reuse.
- Turn on MFA and watch for targeted phishing.
Terms explained
- Credential stuffing
- Credential stuffing is an automated attack that tries usernames and passwords leaked from one service against many other services, succeeding wherever people reused passwords.
- Multi-factor authentication
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires two or more kinds of proof to sign in, such as a password plus an app prompt, security key or biometric unlock of a passkey.
- Password manager
- A password manager is an app that generates, stores and fills unique passwords and passkeys, protected by one strong master password and usually MFA.
- Phishing
- Phishing is a fraudulent message, usually email, that impersonates a trusted sender to trick people into revealing credentials, paying money or running malware.
Sources
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