Lately, there’s been a wave of panic on social media about email and password leaks. This blog aims to highlight why it’s not the end of the world, how common these incidents are, and how understanding the facts can help you not only stay safer online but also avoid unnecessary panic. As the title suggests, this blog focuses solely on leaked login credentials (i.e., usernames, emails, & passwords) and does not cover data breaches involving PII (SSN, DOB, DL, name/address etc). If you’re affected by that kind of breach, freeze your credit file immediately by following this link.
Chances are, your email and passwords have been exposed in one of numerous past breaches; it's an established reality, not an assumption. Services like Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) collect this leaked data so you can check whether your credentials have surfaced on the dark web.
But don’t panic. Most people don't know that a pwned password is not your actual password in plain text, but a hashed version. Although there have been a few rare incidents where passwords were leaked in plain text, that’s uncommon so you can assume pretty much all breached passwords are hashed and require cracking to become usable. If your password is long, strong, and includes special characters, numbers, etc., it becomes impractical and nearly impossible to crack without powerful computing resources and may take days, weeks, or even months or years to crack depending on the complexity of the password. Hackers don’t have that kind of time and skip these in favor of easier, crackable passwords. Also, if the affected account has two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled, your exposure is minimal. Still, treat it as a heads-up.
In summary, if your passwords are strong and unique and you had 2FA enabled, you can safely assume you are fine. In any case, make sure you do the following:
- Change your passwords immediately, especially if reused
- Enable 2FA wherever possible, preferably using an authenticator app that generates OTP instead of SMS-based verification
- Always use strong and unique passwords or preferably use passphrases
It’s not about fear; it’s about stacking the odds in your favor. Hackers aren’t chasing hard battles; they want quick wins. Don’t be the easy one!
Stay Informed and Safe Online
If you enjoyed this blog, you'll find many more cybersecurity related microblogs at link below. They offer valuable insights to help you stay informed and safe online. Explore them at https://blog.selvansoft.com
1 comment:
Useful information. Need safety measures for my business account mainly.
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