What does "pwned" mean?
The word "pwned" has origins in video game culture and is a leetspeakderivation of the word "owned", due to the proximity of the "o" and"p" keys. It's typically used to imply that someone has been controlled orcompromised, for example "I was pwned in the Adobe data breach". Read more abouthow "pwned" went from hacker slang to the internet's favourite taunt.
What is a "breach" and where has the data come from?
A "breach" is an incident where data is inadvertently exposed in a vulnerablesystem, usually due to insufficient access controls or security weaknesses in the software.HIBP aggregates breaches and enables people to assess where their personal data has beenexposed.
Are user passwords stored in this site?
When email addresses from a data breach are loaded into the site, no corresponding passwordsare loaded with them. Separately to the pwned address search feature, the Pwned Passwordsservice allows you to check if an individual password has previously been seen in a databreach. No password is stored next to any personally identifiable data (such as an emailaddress) and every password is SHA-1 hashed (read why SHA-1 was chosen in the Pwned Passwords launch blog post.)
Can I send users their exposed passwords?
No. Any ability to send passwords to people puts both them and myself at greater risk. Thistopic is discussed at length in the blog post on all the reasons I don't make passwords available via this service.
Is a list of everyone's email address or username available?
The public search facility cannot return anything other than the results for a singleuser-provided email address or username at a time. Multiple breached accounts can beretrieved by the domain search feature but only aftersuccessfully verifying that the person performing the search is authorised to access assetson the domain.
What about breaches where passwords aren't leaked?
Occasionally, a breach will be added to the system which doesn't include credentials for anonline service. This may occur when data about individuals is leaked and it may notinclude a username and password. However this data still has a privacy impact; it is datathat those impacted would not reasonably expect to be publicly released and as such they havea vested interest in having the ability to be notified of this.
How is a breach verified as legitimate?
There are often "breaches" announced by attackers which in turn are exposed ashoaxes. There is a balance between making data searchable early and performing sufficient duediligence to establish the legitimacy of the breach. The following activities are usuallyperformed in order to validate breach legitimacy:
- Has the impacted service publicly acknowledged the breach?
- Does the data in the breach turn up in a Google search (i.e. it's just copied from another source)?
- Is the structure of the data consistent with what you'd expect to see in a breach?
- Have the attackers provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate the attack vector?
- Do the attackers have a track record of either reliably releasing breaches or falsifying them?
What is a "paste" and why include it on this site?
A "paste" is information that has been "pasted" to a publicly facingwebsite designed to share content such as Pastebin. Theseservices are favoured by hackers due to the ease of anonymously sharing information andthey're frequently the first place a breach appears.
HIBP searches through pastes that are broadcast by the accounts in the Paste Sources Twitter listand reported as having emails that are a potential indicator of a breach. Finding an emailaddress in a paste does not immediately mean it has been disclosed as the result ofa breach. Review the paste and determine if your account has been compromised then takeappropriate action such as changing passwords.
My email was reported as appearing in a paste but the paste now can't be found
Pastes are often transient; they appear briefly and are then removed. HIBPusually indexes a new paste within 40 seconds of it appearing and stores the emailaddresses that appeared in the paste along with some meta data such as the date, title andauthor (if they exist). The paste itself is not stored and cannot be displayed if it nolonger exists at the source.
My email was not found — does that mean I haven't been pwned?
Whilst HIBP is kept up to date with as much data as possible, it contains buta small subset of all the records that have been breached over the years. Many breaches neverresult in the public release of data and indeed many breaches even go entirely undetected."Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" or in other words, just becauseyour email address wasn't found here doesn't mean that is hasn't been compromised in anotherbreach.
How does HIBP handle "plus aliasing" in email addresses?
Some people choose to create accounts using a pattern known as "plus aliasing" in their emailaddresses. This allows them to express their email address with an additional piece of datain the alias, usually reflecting the site they've signed up to such as test+netflix@example.comor test+amazon@example.com. There is presently a UserVoice suggestionrequesting support of this pattern in HIBP. However, as explained in that suggestion, usageof plus aliasing is extremely rare, appearing in approximately only 0.03% ofaddresses loaded into HIBP. Vote for the suggestion and follow its progress if this featureis important to you.
How is the data stored?
The breached accounts sit in Windows Azure table storage which contains nothing more than the emailaddress or username and a list of sites it appeared in breaches on. If you're interested inthe details, it's all described in Working with 154 million records on Azure Table Storage – the story of Have I Been Pwned
Is anything logged when people search for an account?
Nothing is explicitly logged by the website. The only logging of any kind is via GoogleAnalytics, Application Insightsperformance monitoring and any diagnostic data implicitly collected if an exception occurs inthe system.
Why do I see my username as breached on a service I never signed up to?
When you search for a username that is not an email address, you may see that name appearagainst breaches of sites you never signed up to. Usually this is simply due to someone elseelecting to use the same username as you usually do. Even when your username appears veryunique, the simple fact that there are several billion internet users worldwide means there'sa strong probability that most usernames have been used by other individuals at one time oranother.
Why do I see my email address as breached on a service I never signed up to?
When you search for an email address, you may see that address appear against breaches ofsites you don't recall ever signing up to. There are many possible reasons for this includingyour data having been acquired by another service, the service rebranding itself as somethingelse or someone else signing you up. For a more comprehensive overview, seeWhy am I in a data breach for a site I never signed up to?
Can I receive notifications for an email address I don't have access to?
No. For privacy reasons, all notifications are sent to the address being monitored so youcan't monitor someone else's address nor can you monitor an address you no longer have accessto. You can always perform an on-demand search of an address, but sensitive breacheswill not be returned.
Does the notification service store email addresses?
Yes, it has to in order to track who to contact should they be caught up in a subsequent databreach. Only the email address, the date they subscribed on and a random token for verificationis stored.
Can a breach be removed against my email address after I've changed the password?
HIBP provides a record of which breaches an email address has appeared in regardless ofwhether the password has consequently been changed or not. The fact the email address was inthe breach is an immutable historic fact; it cannot later be changed. If you don't wantany breach to publicly appear against the address, use the opt-out feature.
What email address are notifications sent from?
All emails sent by HIBP come from noreply@haveibeenpwned.com. If you're expecting an email(for example, the verification email sent when signing up for notifications) and it doesn'tarrive, try white-listing that address. 99.x% of the time email doesn't arrive in someone'sinbox, it's due to the destination mail server bouncing it.
How do I know the site isn't just harvesting searched email addresses?
You don't, but it's not. The site is simply intended to be a free service for people toassess risk in relation to their account being caught up in a breach. As with any website,if you're concerned about the intent or security, don't use it.
Is it possible to "deep link" directly to the search for an account?
Sure, you can construct a link so that the search for a particular account happensautomatically when it's loaded, just pass the name after the "account" path.Here's an example:
https://haveibeenpwned.com/account/test@example.com
How can I submit a data breach?
If you've come across a data breach which you'd like to submit, get in touch with me.Check out what's currently loaded into HIBP on the pwned websites pagefirst if you're not sure whether the breach is already in the system.
What is a "sensitive breach"?
HIBP enables you to discover if your account was exposed in most of the databreaches by directly searching the system. However, certain breaches are particularlysensitive in that someone's presence in the breach may adversely impact them if others areable to find that they were a member of the site. These breaches are classed as "sensitive"and may not be publicly searched.
A sensitive data breach can only be searched by the verified owner of the email addressbeing searched for. This is done via the notification systemwhich involves sending a verification email to the address with a unique link. When that linkis followed, the owner of the address will see all data breaches and pastes theyappear in, including the sensitive ones.
There are presently 47sensitive breaches in the system including Adult FriendFinder (2015), Adult FriendFinder (2016), Adult-FanFiction.Org, Ashley Madison, Beautiful People, Bestialitysextaboo, Brazzers, Carding Mafia (December 2021), Carding Mafia (March 2021), CrimeAgency vBulletin Hacks, CTARS, CyberServe, Doxbin, Emotet, Fling, Florida Virtual School, Freedom Hosting II, Fridae, Fur Affinity, Gab and 27 more.
What is a "retired breach"?
After a security incident which results in the disclosure of account data, the breach may beloaded into HIBP where it then sends notifications to impacted subscribers and becomessearchable. In very rare circumstances, that breach may later be permanently remove from HIBPwhere it is then classed as a "retired breach".
A retired breach is typically one where the data does not appear in other locations on theweb, that is it's not being traded or redistributed. Deleting it from HIBP provides thoseimpacted with assurance that their data can no longer be found in any remaining locations.For more background, read Have I Been Pwned, opting out, VTech and general privacy things.
There is presently 1retired breach in the system which is VTech.
What is an "unverified" breach?
Some breaches may be flagged as "unverified". In these cases, whilst there islegitimate data within the alleged breach, it may not have been possible to establishlegitimacy beyond reasonable doubt. Unverified breaches are still included in the systembecause regardless of their legitimacy, they still contain personal information aboutindividuals who want to understand their exposure on the web. Further background onunverified breaches can be found in the blog post titledIntroducing unverified breaches to Have I Been Pwned.
What is a "fabricated" breach?
Some breaches may be flagged as "fabricated". In these cases, it is highly unlikelythat the breach contains legitimate data sourced from the alleged site but it may still besold or traded under the auspices of legitimacy. Often these incidentsare comprised of data aggregated from other locations (or may be entirely fabricated), yetstill contain actual email addresses unbeknownst to the account holder. Fabricated breachesare still included in the system because regardless of their legitimacy, they still contain personal information about individuals who want to understand their exposure on the web.Further background on unverified breaches can be found in the blog post titledIntroducing "fabricated" breaches to Have I Been Pwned.
What is a "spam list"?
Occasionally, large volumes of personal data are found being utilised for the purposes ofsending targeted spam. This often includes many of the same attributes frequently found indata breaches such as names, addresses, phones numbers and dates of birth. The lists areoften aggregated from multiple sources, frequently by eliciting personal information from people with the promise of a monetary reward.Whilst the data may not have been sourced from a breached system, the personal nature of theinformation and the fact that it's redistributed in this fashion unbeknownst to the ownerswarrants inclusion here. Read more about spam lists in HIBP.
What is a "malware" breach?
Data breaches in HIBP aren't always the result of a security compromise of an online serviceand occasionally, data obtained by malware campaigns is also loaded. For example, the US FBI and Dutch NHTCU provided HIBP with data from the Emotet malware in April 2021.The risk posed to individuals in these incidents is different (their personal device may becompromised) hence the presence of this flag in HIBP.
What does it mean if my password is in Pwned Passwords?
If a password is found in the Pwned Passwords service, it means ithas previously appeared in a data breach. HIBP does not store any information about who thepassword belonged to, only that it has previously been exposed publicly and how many times ithas been seen. A Pwned Password should no longer be used as its exposure puts it at higherrisk of being used to login to accounts using the now-exposed secret.
I searched for my email address on HIBP and then I was hacked, what gives?!
First of all, searches are not logged so there's no collection ofaddresses. Any searches that are performed are done so over an encrypted connectionso nobody has access to the web traffic other than those hosting the HIBP services. Even ifthey did, it's only an email address and not enough to gain access to someone'sonline accounts. If Pwned Passwords has also been used to search fora password, it's anonymised before being sent to HIBP so even a search for both email addressand password doesn't provide a usable credential pair. Correlation does not imply causation;it's a coincidence.
It's a bit light on detail here, where can I get more info?
The design and build of this project has been extensively documented on troyhunt.comunder the Have I Been Pwned tag.These blog posts explain much of the reasoning behind the various features and how they've beenimplemented on Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud platform.
FAQs
Should I be worried if I have been pwned? ›
If your email account has been pwned, criminals can set it to automatically forward your messages to the attacker and to send malware, phishing scams, or spam. So check your settings and see if you find anything alarming.
Should I change my email if I have been pwned? ›What should I do if my account has been pwned? If your email address has been compromised in a data breach, it's a smart move to change your login password for your email address, and for the service which was affected by the breach.
Is it safe to put password in Have I Been Pwned? ›Pwned Passwords are hundreds of millions of real world passwords previously exposed in data breaches. This exposure makes them unsuitable for ongoing use as they're at much greater risk of being used to take over other accounts.
Does Have I Been Pwned notify? ›After the verification process is complete, you'll receive a summary email regarding impacted accounts if anything on this domain shows up again in the future. You will only be notified of breaches after you successfully complete the domain verification process.
Is my email on the dark web? ›How to find out if your email is on the dark web. Unfortunately, there's no search engine that you could use to find out whether any of your sensitive data is on the dark web. As a rule of thumb, we recommend keeping an eye for any suspicious activity on your online accounts.
What happens if a scammer has your email address? ›One of the major risks of scammers having your email address is that they'll use it to hack into your other online accounts. With your email address, they can request password resets, try entering your other passwords that have been leaked online, and even break into your email account.
What are the first signs of being hacked? ›- You get a ransomware message.
- You get a fake antivirus message.
- You have unwanted browser toolbars.
- Your internet searches are redirected.
- You see frequent, random popups.
- Your friends receive social media invitations from you that you didn't send.
- Your online password isn't working.
What does "pwned" mean? The word "pwned" has origins in video game culture and is a leetspeak derivation of the word "owned", due to the proximity of the "o" and "p" keys. It's typically used to imply that someone has been controlled or compromised, for example "I was pwned in the Adobe data breach".
How do you know if my number is leaked? ›- Go to 'https://haveibeenpwned.com/' on any device or search the website on Google.
- Once the web page like the above screenshot appears, enter your email or phone number in the international format and click on the 'pwned' tab next to it.
Long passwords are more secure than short passwords. We recommend using passwords that are anywhere from 16 to 20 characters long, although nearly half of Americans use passwords of eight characters or fewer. What are the five most common passwords?
Where do I find my saved passwords? ›
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Chrome app .
- To the right of the address bar, tap More .
- Tap Settings. Passwords.
- See, delete, edit, or export a password: See: Tap the password you want to see. Show password. . Delete: Tap the password you want to remove.
“This password has appeared in a data leak, which puts this account at high risk of compromise. You should change your password immediately.” Data leaks are the first step to a data breach. If you receive this alert, your sensitive data is in danger – it's strongly recommended to follow the notification's prompts.
What is a paste account? ›A Paste is information that has been “pasted” to a public facing website designed to share content such as Pastebin. These public forums are frequently used by hackers for their ability to anonymously sharing critical and sensitive information such as password files stolen during hacker breaches.
What is a data breach? ›A data breach is an incident where information is stolen or taken from a system without the knowledge or authorization of the system's owner. A small company or large organization may suffer a data breach.
What are pastes? ›A food paste is a semi-liquid colloidal suspension, emulsion, or aggregation used in food preparation or eaten directly as a spread. Pastes are often highly spicy or aromatic, are often prepared well in advance of actual usage, and are often made into a preserve for future use.
Can you remove your information from the dark web? ›While you can't remove your info from the dark web once it's there, you can take steps to prevent anyone from leaking your identity or personal data in the first place: Use a password manager. Avoid public WiFi. Set up two-factor authentication.
Can I tell if my email has been hacked? ›Look for strange emails in your sent folder that you didn't send. You're getting password reset emails you didn't ask for. Once a hacker gets access to your inbox they can see which services you use. For example, Facebook email notifications tell them you have a Facebook account.
How did my info get on the dark web? ›If your personal information is spotted on the dark web, it could mean someone took the information without your permission. Criminals steal information in a variety of ways. Some try hacking into accounts or using malware to capture passwords. Others attempt to collect information through phishing scams and SIM swaps.
Can someone hack my bank account with my email address? ›Your online bank accounts can also be a major target for hackers, especially if you use your email address as a login for those, too. And, needless to say, once a hacker has access to those, your money is in serious jeopardy. “This is one of the biggest risks you'll face from an email hack,” Glassberg says.
Should I delete my email if it was hacked? ›Many experts do warn against deleting email accounts as most email providers will recycle your old email address. This could mean a hacker could spam every site they can find with 'forgot my password' request and try to impersonate you – identity theft!
What information does a scammer need to access my bank account? ›
The easiest way to become a victim of a bank scam is to share your banking info — e.g., account numbers, PIN codes, social security number — with someone you don't know well and trust. If someone asks for sensitive banking details, proceed with caution.
Can you be hacked without knowing? ›Phone hacking can compromise your identity and privacy without you even knowing. Fraudsters continuously evolve and improve hacking methods, making them increasingly harder to spot. This means the average user might be blind sighted by any number of cyberattacks.
How you know your phone is hacked? ›If you find apps you haven't downloaded, or calls, texts, and emails that you didn't send, that's a red flag. A hacker may have hijacked your phone to send premium-rate calls or messages or to spread malware to your contacts. Similarly, if you see spikes in your data usage, that could be a sign of a hack as well.
Who is the No 1 hacker in world? ›| Kevin Mitnick | |
|---|---|
| Kevin Mitnick speaking at Cyber Incursion event 2018. He spoke about social engineering and its risks for users. | |
| Born | Kevin David Mitnick August 6, 1963 Van Nuys, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | The Condor, The Darkside Hacker |
| Screenshot | |
|---|---|
| Registration | Optional |
| Users | 2 million verified email subscribers |
| Launched | 4 December 2013 |
| Current status | Online |
The primary function of Have I Been Pwned is to tell you whether your information has been compromised. Enter your email address or phone number and you'll get a list of data breaches tied to those details.
What does 1337 mean? ›1337 is a language for internet users known for replacing letters with numbers or symbols. The term itself has gone on as a slang term for “extremely skilled (at gaming or computing)” or, more generally, “awesome.”
What if my phone number is on the dark web? ›If a dark web scan reveals your info is available online, you should: Change your passwords. Add multifactor authentication to your accounts. Try to add SIM-swapping protection to your phone.
What happens if your number gets leaked? ›With your phone number, a hacker can start hijacking your accounts one by one by having a password reset sent to your phone. They can trick automated systems — like your bank — into thinking they're you when you call customer service.
How can you change your phone number? ›- On your Android device, open Settings Google. ...
- At the top, tap Personal info.
- In the "Contact info" section, tap Phone.
- Select the phone number that you want to make changes to.
- Next to your number, select Delete. ...
- At the top left, tap Back .
- At the top, tap Security.
How do hackers get your password? ›
Because many people use weak passwords, brute-force attacks remain effective for hacking accounts. Attackers use an automated computer algorithm to rapidly try different passwords. Some brute-force attacks can attempt one billion passwords per second!
What is my password in Gmail? ›Head to the Gmail sign-in page and click the “Forgot Password” link. Enter the last password you remember. If you can't remember one, click “Try a different question.” Enter the secondary email address you used when you set up your Gmail account to get a password reset email.
How do u reset a password? ›- Sign in with a domain account that has administrator permissions to this device. ...
- Select the Start button. ...
- On the Users tab, under Users for this computer, select the user account name, and then select Reset Password.
- Type the new password, confirm the new password, and then select OK.
- Open your Google Account. You might need to sign in.
- Under "Security," select Signing in to Google.
- Choose Password. You might need to sign in again.
- Enter your new password, then select Change Password.
The consequences for businesses and organizations can be very serious if they become the victim of a data breach. According to a 2021 report by IBM, the average cost of a data breach was more than 4.2 million USD. In other words, the financial damage caused by a data breach is significant.
How do you know if your passwords have been leaked? ›Check with Troy Hunt's Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) site
With 150,000 visitors every day, three million email subscribers and details of more than 9 billion compromised accounts it is, by far, the biggest and most popular way to find out if your password has been stolen.
Data leaks can reveal everything from social security numbers to banking information. Once a criminal has these details, they can engage in all types of fraud under your name. Theft of your identity can ruin your credit, pin you with legal issues, and it is difficult to fight back against.
What does getting pwned mean? ›Slang. to totally defeat or dominate, especially in a video or computer game: You just got pwned! I pwned those guys in the end.
What does it mean when your email has been leaked? ›Your account information was leaked in a data breach
That means there's a good chance that hackers already have access to your email account information.
The service collects and analyzes hundreds of database dumps and pastes containing information about billions of leaked accounts, and allows users to search for their own information by entering their username or email address. Users can also sign up to be notified if their email address appears in future dumps.
How did the Wattpad breach happen? ›
The Wattpad breach
On July 14, 2020, our research team discovered that a threat actor shared a compromised database allegedly originating from Wattpad. The leaked database included more than 270 million records with more than 268 million unique email address and password combinations.
The gamer slang is a misspelling of “owned” that has come to mean a person being totally and completely dominated by an opponent in any situation.
What does 1337 mean? ›1337 is a language for internet users known for replacing letters with numbers or symbols. The term itself has gone on as a slang term for “extremely skilled (at gaming or computing)” or, more generally, “awesome.”
When was pwned popular? ›Though it's hard to trace the exact rise and fall of a word like “pwn,” according to Google Trends, search interest in the word peaked around 2008, dropping off dramatically afterwards.
What are the first signs of being hacked? ›- You get a ransomware message.
- You get a fake antivirus message.
- You have unwanted browser toolbars.
- Your internet searches are redirected.
- You see frequent, random popups.
- Your friends receive social media invitations from you that you didn't send.
- Your online password isn't working.
Many experts do warn against deleting email accounts as most email providers will recycle your old email address. This could mean a hacker could spam every site they can find with 'forgot my password' request and try to impersonate you – identity theft!
Can someone hack my bank account with my email address? ›It's also possible hackers could use your email account to gain access to your bank account or credit card information, draining funds from an account, or racking up charges. They might even use your email and password to sign up for online sites and services, sticking you with monthly fees in the process.
Why is pwned pronounced owned? ›You pronounce pwn as p-own as it is an abbreviation of professionally own. "Owned is a slang word that originated among 1990s hackers, where it referred to "rooting" or gaining administrative control over someone else's computer.
Can you get hacked from opening an email? ›Yes. There are some types of emails that can cause damage immediately upon opening, but if you know what to look for, you'll usually be able to avoid them. This typically happens when an email allows scripting, which allows the hacker to insert a virus or malware directly into the email.
How often is Have I Been Pwned updated? ›HIBP usually indexes a new paste within 40 seconds of it appearing and stores the email addresses that appeared in the paste along with some meta data such as the date, title and author (if they exist). The paste itself is not stored and cannot be displayed if it no longer exists at the source.
Can you get hacked on Wattpad? ›
If you believe your account has been hacked, or you are unable to log into your account with your username (or email address) and password, please follow the instructions below. Reset your password. If you are unable to reset your password, please contact us by submitting a Support request here.
Can people see your email on Wattpad? ›We treat the personal information above as private by default, so it won't be displayed on the Site (unless you choose to publicly display applicable information via your account settings), revealed to other Wattpad users, or rented or sold to anyone unless the data has been anonymized.
What database does Wattpad use? ›Wattpad Uses Percona to Optimize Their Queries and Cloud Environment. A unified experience for developers and database administrators to monitor, manage, secure, and optimize database environments on any infrastructure.