If you haven’t recently checked whether your login details are floating around online, now is the time. A staggering 1.3 billion unique passwords and 2 billion unique email addresses have surfaced publicly — and not due to a fresh corporate breach.
Instead, this massive cache was uncovered after threat-intelligence firm Synthient combed through both the open web and the dark web for leaked credentials. You may recognize the company, as they previously discovered
183 million compromised email accounts.
Much of this enormous collection is made up of credential-stuffing lists, which bundle together login details stolen from various older breaches. Cybercriminals typically buy and trade these lists to attempt unauthorized logins across multiple platforms.
This time, Synthient pulled together all 2 billion emails and 1.3 billion passwords, and with help from Troy Hunt and Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), the entire dataset can now be searched so users can determine if their personal information is exposed.
The compilation was created by Synthient founder Benjamin Brundage, who spent months gathering leaked credentials from countless sources across hacker forums and malware dumps. The dataset includes both older breach data and newly stolen information harvested through info-stealing malware, which quietly extracts passwords from infected devices.
According to Troy Hunt, Brundage provided the raw data while Hunt independently verified its authenticity.
To test its validity, Hunt used one of his old email addresses — one he already knew had appeared in past credential lists. As expected, that address and several associated passwords were included in the dataset.
After that, Hunt contacted a group of HIBP subscribers for verification. By choosing some users whose data had never appeared in a breach and others with previously exposed data, he confirmed that the new dataset wasn’t just recycled information — fresh, previously unseen credentials were indeed present.
HIBP has since integrated the exposed passwords into its Pwned Passwords service. Importantly, this database never links email addresses to passwords, maintaining privacy while still allowing users to check if their passwords are compromised.
To see if any of your current passwords have been leaked, visit the Pwned Passwords page and enter them. Your passwords are never sent to a server — the entire check is processed locally in your browser through an anonymity-preserving method.
If any password you use appears in the results, change it immediately. You can rely on a password manager to generate strong replacements, or use free password generators from tools like Bitwarden, LastPass, and ProtonPass.
The single most important cybersecurity rule remains the same: never reuse passwords. When criminals obtain one set of login credentials, they try them across other platforms — an attack method known as credential stuffing. Because so many people still repeat passwords, these attacks remain highly successful.
Make sure every account you own uses a strong, complex, and unique password. Password managers and built-in password generators are the easiest way to handle this.
Even the best password may not protect you if it’s stolen through a breach or malware. That’s why Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is crucial. With a second verification step — such as an authenticator app or security key — criminals won’t be able to access your account even if they know the password.
You should also safeguard your devices against malware using reputable antivirus tools on Windows, Mac, and Android. Info-stealing malware, often spread through phishing attacks, remains one of the most common ways passwords are siphoned directly from user devices.
If you’re interested in going beyond passwords altogether, consider switching to passkeys. These use cryptographic key pairs rather than passwords, making them unguessable, non-reusable, and resistant to phishing attempts.
Think of your password as the lock on your home’s front door: the stronger it is, the harder it is for intruders to break in. But even with strong habits, your information can still be exposed through breaches outside your control — one reason many experts, including Hunt, see passkeys as the future.
While it’s easy to panic after reading about massive leaks like this, staying consistent with good digital hygiene and regularly checking your exposure will keep you one step ahead of cybercriminals.
