Have I Been Pwned, Compromised Passwords, and the Shift to Passkeys in 2025

How to monitor breaches with Have I Been Pwned, respond to compromised passwords, and move toward a more secure, passwordless future.
Have I Been Pwned, Compromised Passwords, and the Shift to Passkeys in 2025

🔍 Staying Ahead of Breaches: Have I Been Pwned & Passkey Security in 2025

No matter how careful you are, your login credentials may already be out there.
Data breaches happen daily — sometimes quietly — and the information stolen can be used for phishing, identity theft, or account takeover.

The good news? You can get early warning signs and take action before the damage spreads.

🛡 What Is Have I Been Pwned (HIBP)?

Have I Been Pwned is a free breach monitoring tool created by security researcher Troy Hunt.
It lets you:

  • Search your email or phone number for past breaches.
  • Subscribe for alerts on future breaches.
  • Check if a password has been seen in leaked databases — without exposing it.

HIBP is integrated into many top password managers and even some browsers, giving you automatic alerts if credentials appear in new leaks.

⚡ Why Compromised Passwords Are Dangerous

Once your password is leaked, attackers can:

  • Try it across multiple accounts (credential stuffing).
  • Use it in phishing scams to make messages seem more convincing (learn to spot these red flags).
  • Sell your data on the dark web to other criminals.

If your email account is affected, the risk is far higher — it’s often the key to resetting passwords for your bank, social media, and cloud storage. That’s why we stress keeping your inbox secure.

🚨 What to Do If You’re in a Breach

  1. Change the password immediately — especially if reused elsewhere. Consider upgrading to one of the best free password managers if you don’t already use one.
  2. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA guide) on the affected account.
  3. Check forwarding rules & recovery emails in your inbox for signs of tampering (inbox organisation tips).
  4. Run a malware scan to ensure the compromise wasn’t device-related (smart home & device security).
  5. Consider using a VPN — ideally one from our best free VPNs list — on public networks to reduce exposure.

🔑 The Shift From Passwords to Passkeys

Even strong passwords can be stolen or phished.
That’s why Google, Apple, Microsoft, and others are pushing passkeys — a passwordless authentication method that:

  • Uses public key cryptography (your private key never leaves your device).
  • Authenticates with biometrics or a local PIN.
  • Works only on the legitimate site — making phishing nearly impossible.

Benefits:

  • No need to remember or manage passwords.
  • Immune to credential stuffing attacks.
  • Removes the risk of password reuse.

💡 Tip: Start by enabling passkeys on your most sensitive accounts — email, banking, cloud storage — then expand from there. If you want to go deeper, see our guide to passkeys for power users.

🔄 Making Breach Monitoring Routine

Security isn’t a one-time task — it’s a habit. Each new data breach means your data could be compromised. And not every company is keen to come clean.

  • Check HIBP quarterly (how to keep on top of password breaches) or rely on your password manager’s alerts.
  • Rotate passwords for high-value accounts regularly — Think banks, emails, and anywhere you store credit card information.
  • Use unique credentials for each login — password managers make this easy.
  • Keep learning about threat trends and defensive tools (staying safe online).

📚 Related Reading

Bottom line:
Have I Been Pwned is your early-warning system.
Pair it with strong email security, multi-factor authentication, and the move to passkeys to close the door on attackers — before they even knock.