Password Appeared in a Dataleak? This Is What to Do

'This password has appeared in a data leak'; an alarming message received by all too many computer, smartphone and tablet users in recent years. In 2024 alone, over 3,150 significant data breaches were reported in the U.S (up from around 1,100 in 2020), with the average cost of an attack nearing $5 million.

The above-mentioned data leaks impacted over 1.35 billion internet-users, leading to cases of identity theft, financial losses and severe emotional distress. As hackers become more sophisticated and digital security recommendations change, it can be hard to tell whether your online accounts are truly secure.

Whether you've been impacted by a data leak, or you're simply looking for proactive ways to keep your sensitive information safe, the below post covers all you need to know about modern password security.

Has your password appeared in a data leak? Here's what to do.

Unique passwords associated with online accounts can appear in data leaks when private businesses suffer cyber attacks. Hackers use social engineering tactics like phishing, smart malware or simply look for exploitable vulnerabilities in digital systems to gain access to saved passwords. Once breached, this stolen data can be used to access important accounts, posted online, or sold on the dark web for profit.

Internet-users who use the same password across multiple sites are significantly more vulnerable to data breaches, as are those who use weak passwords and login credentials that are easily-guessed or brute-forced. Despite this, almost 80% of surveyed individuals don't use different passwords across their online accounts, with (as of 2019) 83% of Americans using passwords less than 10 characters long.

According to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), unique and strong credentials should:

1. Be at least 16 characters long.
2. Consist of a random string of mixed-case letters, numbers and symbols.
3. Be unique to each account.

Even better, try using secure passwordless authentication methods like biometric-based passkeys.

While following credential security recommendations can help to protect you from data leaks to some extent, if a company that holds your unique password is attacked, your accounts may still be vulnerable.

In this situation, knowing how to respond quickly and effectively is imperative. So, if you've received a notification warning of a password compromise, follow the below steps to help mitigate further damage.

The first step in addressing compromised passwords is to change your credentials. Hackers can use automated tools to input leaked passwords into thousands of popular websites and cellphone apps in a matter of minutes, so it's vital that you change your password immediately to a more secure credential.

It can be wise to use a password generator to quickly create new account passwords that comply with modern login security recommendations, or you can use a high-security authentication method in place of a traditional password, such as a biometric authenticator or a sophisticated passkey for example.

Follow this process across all your accounts which use the same password involved in the data breach.

As important as changing your password immediately is changing all variations of that password across other accounts. It's surprisingly common for people to think they're avoiding the one password problem by simply using variations like password1 or password2 across different accounts. However, hackers will often use automated software to try these variations themselves, placing your sensitive data at high risk.

If you're using a password manager to organize and store passwords, finding and changing potentially compromised credentials shouldn't be too hard. If not, take the time to manually check and resolve the issue as best you can, and consider setting up a password manager to make things easier in the future.

One of the most effective forms of protection against data leaks is to enable MFA, or at least two factor authentication, on all of your digital accounts. Under this principle, a minimum of a second form of login credential is added to all accounts, so even if one password is leaked, your account should stay secure.

The higher the number of extra credentials, the lower the risk of a data breach, with hard-to-fabricate or compromise credentials such as biometrics and authenticator apps offering higher levels of security.

When it comes to defending against a data breach, MFA is your best bet, with this method consistently showing up in security technology trends while being recommended by trusted agencies like the CISA.

Concerns about identity theft and financial loss often rank highly among individuals worried about data leaks, so an effective response includes efforts to protect your financial accounts. If your password has appeared in a data leak, alongside the above-mentioned steps, consider proactively freezing your credit.

You can do this by contacting America's three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) and requesting that your credit be frozen. This prevents any new lines of credit being opened in your name, stopping hackers and criminals in their tracks, even if your details have appeared in a data leak.

Efforts to change your password, enable MFA and freeze your credit should help to block access to your accounts and protect your data from future attacks, but it's important to remain vigilant moving forward.

High risk systems like bank accounts will typically provide options to set up notifications for suspicious activity, enabling you to receive live alerts warning of unusual access attempts and odd log in activities.

You can also use online tools like Google Password Checkup to detect compromised passwords linked to your accounts, as well as specialized dark web monitoring services that will warn you if your data is shared on unlisted websites not indexed by Google.

Cyber attacks and data leaks continue to affect billions of people each year, with the first quarter of 2025 already seeing a 47% increase in such events. For consumers, it's never been more important to learn and adhere to cybersecurity best practices in order to best-protect sensitive data from hackers.

If you've been impacted by a data leak, it's vital to respond in a prompt and smart manner. Make sure to change compromised passwords immediately, set up a password manager, enable MFA and freeze your credit as soon as possible. Further steps include monitoring your accounts for unusual activity, setting up dark web alerts and replacing traditional passwords with high-security passkeys to reduce risk levels.