Has your password leaked? How to tell and act

Has your password leaked? How to tell and what to do right away

3 min read

Password leaks are not rare, big services lose databases of login details regularly, and your password can end up online without you doing anything wrong. The good news is that it is easy to check and even easier to defend against. Here is how.

How to tell if your password has leaked

A checking service. Enter your email on a site like haveibeenpwned.com and you will see which known breaches it appeared in. You do not enter your password, only the email is checked.
Browser and password manager. Modern browsers and password managers compare your saved passwords with known leaks and warn you if one has leaked or is reused.
A notice from the service. Sometimes the service the data leaked from will warn you. But beware of fraudulent imitations, verify it through the official site.

What a leak means

When an attacker gets your username and password from one service, they automatically try them elsewhere, on your email, your bank, your social media. The technical term is credential stuffing. If you use the same password in several places, one leak endangers all of them at once. That is exactly why a reused password is such a problem.

What to do right away

Change the password in that service and everywhere you used it too, to a new and unique one.
Turn on two-factor authentication so the password alone is not enough for an attacker.
Check active logins and sign out unknown sessions.
Watch the account, and if it was a payment service, your account movements too.

If you suspect the attacker has already done something, follow what to do when your account is hacked.

How to prevent another leak

You cannot prevent a leak at the provider, but you can make sure it does no harm:

A different strong password for each account. How to do it is in how to create a strong password.
A password manager that remembers them for you, more in a password manager and two-factor authentication.
Two-factor authentication everywhere you can.
Passwordless sign-in (passkey) where the service offers it.

And if you feel the problem is not just the password, go through the signs in how to tell if your device is hacked.

Conclusion

A password leak is not your fault and cannot be fully prevented, but it is easy to detect and neutralise. Check your email in a leak-checking service, change reused passwords to unique ones, turn on two-factor authentication and let a manager remember your passwords. Then a leak at some service is just a minor thing, not a disaster.

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This article is part of the Cybersecurity overview.

Frequently asked questions

How do I tell if my password has leaked?

The easiest way is a checking service such as haveibeenpwned.com, where you enter your email and see which breaches it appeared in. Modern browsers and password managers also warn you by comparing your passwords with known leaks, and sometimes the service the data leaked from notifies you.

What does it mean when my password leaks?

Attackers have your username and password from one service and automatically try them elsewhere (so-called credential stuffing). If you use the same password in several places, all of them are at risk at once.

What should I do right away when my password leaks?

Immediately change the password in that service and everywhere you used it too, to a new and unique one. Turn on two-factor authentication, check active logins and watch the account for unknown activity. If it was a payment service, watch your account movements too.

Is it safe to enter my email into a checking service?

With a reputable service like haveibeenpwned.com, yes; it only checks whether the email appears in known breaches and you do not enter your password. But never enter your password on random sites that promise a check, it may be a scam.

Why is it bad to use the same password on several accounts?

Because one leak then endangers all your accounts. The attacker only needs to get the password from one less important service and tries it on your email, bank and social media. A unique password for each account breaks this chain.

How do I prevent further leaks?

Use a different strong password for each account, remembered by a password manager, turn on two-factor authentication, and where possible switch to passwordless sign-in (passkey). You cannot prevent a leak at the provider, but this way it practically cannot harm you.

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