Data breach - What is it and how to check if your data was leaked?
Imagine your private diary with personal secrets falling into the wrong hands. Or a list of your passwords being posted on a public bulletin board in a shopping mall. Sounds terrifying? This is essentially what a data breach looks like in simple terms. In this article, we will explain what a breach exactly is, how to check if you're affected, and what you can do to protect yourself.
What is a data breach? A simple analogy
A data breach is like a system failure in an office where your personal files are stored.
- Your personal data = documents in files (name, email, password, phone number)
- An online service = the office that collects and stores these files
- The data breach = the moment someone steals or copies these files and then publishes them online
In practice, this means hackers break into the database of an online store, social media platform, or another service and steal data from thousands, even millions of users. This data later ends up on the dark web, where it is sold or published.
What data most commonly leaks?
- Email addresses (the most common case)
- Passwords (sometimes encrypted, sometimes in plain text)
- Usernames and logins
- First and last names
- Phone numbers
- Home addresses
How to check if your data was leaked? 3 Simple methods
1. Check It in 30 Seconds.
Just like Mark from our story, you can find out in half a minute if your data is circulating online. Just visit the Have I Been Pwned website.
How does it work? It's really simple:
- Go to the website.
- Type the email address you use for registrations into the search bar.
- Click "Check?".
What happens next? The system will instantly tell you if your email address has appeared in any hacked database. If it has, it will show you how many breaches it was exposed in and from which services (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, an online store).
This way you immediately know if you should worry and act quickly. It's the first, simplest step to regaining control over your online security.
2. Watch for warning signs
If you notice any of these symptoms, your data might have been leaked:
- You receive an unusually large amount of spam in an inbox you haven't used in a long time
- You get phishing emails that seem very personalized
- Your friends say they received strange messages from you
- You can't log into your account - this might mean someone changed your password
- You see suspicious activity on your bank account or social media
3. Stay informed about breaches
Follow tech news. When a major breach happens at a popular service, the media usually reports it. If you used that service, change your password immediately.
What to do if you find out your data was leaked?
Immediate Actions:
- Change your passwords - especially for the service where the breach occurred, but also in all other places where you used the same password
- Enable two-factor authentication - this adds an extra layer of security, making it harder to access your account even with a known password
- Be wary of phishing - scammers can use the leaked data for personalized attacks
- Notify your bank - if financial data was leaked
Long-Term Protection:
The most effective way to protect yourself from the consequences of breaches is prevention through online privacy protection.
How does Hetman Relay help protect you from the consequences of breaches?
When you use email relays instead of your real address, the impact of a data breach is significantly reduced:
- Your real email address never leaks - only temporary relays are found in service databases
- You can easily cut off access - as soon as you learn about a breach from a specific service, you just need to disable the relay assigned to that service
- You avoid spam and phishing attacks - scammers won't have your real email, so they can't pester you
- You protect your identity - hackers can't link your activity across different services because each one has a different relay
Summary: Don't wait until it's too late
A data breach isn't a theoretical threat - it's an everyday reality on the internet. Even the biggest and most trusted companies fall victim to attacks.
That's why you shouldn't wait for your data to leak. Check if you are a victim of at least one breach and start taking preventive action. Use unique, strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and protect your primary email address with Hetman Relay relays.
Remember: in the digital age, privacy protection is not a luxury, but a necessity. Your data is valuable - take care of its security before cybercriminals do it for you.