# 24 Billion Passwords Leaked — Then Tagged With a "Hack Me First" List **URL:** \ **Category:** News & Articles\ **Tags:** tools, hacking, privacy, tips-tricks, news\ **Created:** [23 Junio, 2026 16:47 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/24-billion-passwords-leaked-then-tagged-with-a-hack-me-first-list/323332 "2026-06-23T16:47:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aina](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/aina/32/167469_2.png) [@Aina](https://onehack.st/u/Aina)\ **Post date:** [23 Junio, 2026 16:47 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/24-billion-passwords-leaked-then-tagged-with-a-hack-me-first-list/323332/1 "2026-06-23T16:47:39Z")
# 🚨 24 Billion Passwords Leaked — Then Someone Tagged Them With a “Hack Me First” List _Yo. A leak this big is bad enough. But this one came pre-sorted, like a hacker’s grocery list. You’re not ready._ **24 billion login records. 8.3 terabytes. Pulled from 36 different sources. Found sitting WIDE OPEN on the internet for anyone to grab.** Discovered June 12, 2026. Locked down by the 15th. But “locked down” doesn’t mean nobody copied it first. Reported by [Cybernews](https://cybernews.com/security/24-billion-credentials-data-leak/), [Security Affairs](https://securityaffairs.com/193864/security/24-billion-stolen-credentials-exposed-in-massive-data-leak.html), and [Malwarebytes](https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2026/06/24-billion-stolen-records-found-in-giant-data-dump-check-if-youre-affected). ![Vault Door](https://media.giphy.com/media/vNi0GdJp1B5uw/giphy.gif) So here’s the part that broke my brain. A regular leak is just a giant pile of emails and passwords, right? Annoying, but dumb. This one was _organized_. Someone glued the stolen passwords to a list of live break-in tricks — actual working hacking code — so an attacker could open the file and instantly know which accounts are the easiest, juiciest targets to hit first. I mean. It’s not a leak. It’s a menu. > **🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary (read this first, takes 20 seconds)** > > | You hear… | It actually means… | > | --- | --- | > | **Infostealer** | A sneaky virus that sits on a hacked computer and quietly copies every password the person types. [More here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infostealer). | > | **Credential stuffing** | Taking your leaked email + password and trying it on 50 OTHER sites, betting you reused it. ([yep, most people do](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credential_stuffing)) | > | **Combolist** | A giant text file of `email:password` pairs. The currency of the hacker underground. | > | **CVE** | An official ID number for a known security hole in software (like a “wanted poster” for bugs). [List of them here](https://cve.mitre.org/). | > | **Elasticsearch cluster** | A big searchable database. This one was left online with NO password. Oops. | > | **Plaintext password** | Your password stored as plain readable letters — not scrambled. The worst-case scenario. | > **📰 What actually happened (the short version)** > > - Researchers found an open database — no lock, no password — holding **~24 billion records** and **8.3 TB** of stolen login data. > - It was a mega-mashup of **36 different sources** : old breaches, hacker Telegram channels, and fresh infostealer logs. > - Over **1.7 billion records** came straight from Telegram channels that exist purely to hand out stolen logins. > - It had emails, usernames, the websites you log into, AND passwords — a lot of them in **plaintext** (readable, not scrambled). > - Found June 12, secured June 15. Three days. But the file was downloadable that whole time, and probably long before anyone noticed. > **🔪 The part that's genuinely diabolical** > > Buried inside was a **9,500-record stash that paired CVEs (known software holes) with links to GitHub repos holding the actual exploit code.** > > Translation: someone bolted a “how to break in” toolkit onto the “whose door to break into” list. > > - Plus **5,200+ saved news articles** about recent breaches — basically a hacker keeping tabs on what’s freshly broken. > - Plus **2,900 social media posts** tracking security incidents in real time. > - One saved article was from **February 2026** , about a poisoned-software attack on [PyPI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_Package_Index) (the place Python coders download tools). > > Whoever built this wasn’t hoarding. They were _operating_. This is a working attack pipeline, not a dusty archive. > **📊 The receipts** > > | Number | What it is | > | --- | --- | > | 24,000,000,000 | Login records in the dump | > | 8.3 TB | Size (that’s ~1,700 full HD movies of pure passwords) | > | 36 | Separate sources mashed together | > | 1.7 billion | Records pulled from Telegram alone | > | 9,500 | Records linking bugs → live exploit code | > | 3 days | Time it sat open before being secured | > **🗣️ Why this hits different than the usual 'billions leaked' headline** > > Every few months you see “16 billion passwords leaked!!” and your eyes glaze over. Fair. Most of that is recycled old junk. > > But the reuse problem is brutally real: tons of people use the same password on their email, their bank, and some random forum from 2014. A combolist this size means attackers can run **credential stuffing** at industrial scale — auto-trying your old leaked password on hundreds of sites until one opens. > > The fix is annoyingly simple and almost nobody does it: stop reusing passwords, turn on the 6-digit text/app code (2FA). Go check your email at [Have I Been Pwned](https://haveibeenpwned.com/) right now. I’ll wait. #### Cool. So Half the Planet’s Passwords Are Now a Searchable Menu… Now What the Hell Do We Do? (ง •̀\_•́)ง ![Padlock](https://media.giphy.com/media/jZuKY2yJ2dj1OJfgoN/giphy.gif) Here’s the thing nobody says out loud: every giant leak is a panic wave, and panic waves are where the quietly-clever make rent. The suits are scrambling. The grandmas are terrified. You? You’ve got a laptop and a free afternoon. Let’s go. > **🐤 The Combolist Canary** > > Small shops — the dentist, the local accountant, the family restaurant chain — have ZERO IT person and zero clue if their staff emails are floating in this dump. You become their early-warning bird. > > [Have I Been Pwned](https://haveibeenpwned.com/DomainSearch) lets you monitor an ENTIRE company domain (like `@joesplumbing.com`) for free once you verify you control it — or you partner with the owner who does. You watch, you alert, you force a reset the second a staff login leaks. > > 🧠 _Example:_ Priya, 24, a comp-sci student in Pune, India, DMs 15 local clinics on WhatsApp offering “leak watch.” She verifies their domains, sets up free HIBP monitoring, and sends a 1-page monthly “all clear or red alert” PDF. Charges ₹2,000/clinic/month. 9 signed = ~$220/month for maybe 3 hours of work. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** First paying client in ~10 days (fear sells fast right now). Plateaus around 15-20 clients before you’d need to actually automate the alerts or burn out. > **🪟 The Patch-Before-They-Pounce Sprint** > > That dump literally paired bugs with working exploit code. You can ride the SAME logic — legally and on the defense side. When a new exploit goes public, there’s a brutal **2–4 week gap** where attackers are spraying it but small businesses haven’t patched yet. > > Watch [CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list](https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) (free, updated constantly). When a bug hits gear that local shops run (old routers, mail servers, that ancient WordPress), you offer same-week emergency patching. > > 🧠 _Example:_ Tomasz, 27, in Kraków, Poland, watches the KEV feed every morning. When a Fortinet VPN bug blew up, he cold-called 30 local firms with “you have a 2-week window.” Patched 6 at €400 each in one week. €2,400. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Cash within the first hot CVE (days). The honest catch: it’s feast-or-famine — dead weeks between juicy public exploits. Pair it with the Canary play for steady income. > **📖 The Rotation Bible** > > Here’s a gap: 95% of the “you got leaked, here’s the fix” guides are in English and written like a legal document. Billions of people don’t read English well and just… panic and do nothing. > > Be the FIRST to write the dead-simple “Your password leaked? Here’s the 10-minute fix” guide in YOUR language — Tagalog, Urdu, Portuguese, whatever’s underserved. Plain words, screenshots, zero jargon. It becomes the thing people share in every family group chat. > > Monetize with honest affiliate links to a password manager like [Bitwarden](https://bitwarden.com/) or [Proton Pass](https://proton.me/pass) (both have free tiers + referral payouts). > > 🧠 _Example:_ Andile, 22, in Durban, South Africa, writes the guide in isiZulu + English, posts it free, and pins the affiliate links. It ranks #1 on Google for the local search within 6 weeks. ~$15/signup × steady trickle = beer-and-rent money on autopilot. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** First search traffic in 3-6 weeks (Google’s slow). The win compounds — but a copycat shows up in ~4 months, so be first and be the friendliest. > **🎣 Phish-Test the Suits (the legal kind)** > > Owners don’t believe their staff reuse leaked passwords — until you prove it. So prove it (with written permission, always). > > Use [GoPhish](https://getgophish.com/) — a free, open-source tool that sends a fake harmless “test” phishing email and shows who clicks and who hands over a password. You run a controlled test, hand the boss a scary little report, and suddenly they’re paying for the fix. > > 🧠 _Example:_ Mei, 26, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, offers free 1-page “phish reports” to SMBs, gets written sign-off, runs GoPhish, and shows the owner that 7 of 12 staff clicked. Upsells a $300 “fix + train your team” package. Closes 1 in 4. ~$900/month part-time. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** First paid upsell in ~2 weeks. Honest warning: you MUST have written permission — no sign-off = sketchy and possibly illegal. Stay white-hat. > **🔐 The Family Vault Installer** > > Forget businesses for a sec. Your neighbors, your aunties, every non-techy person over 40 is terrified right now and has no idea what a password manager even is. They will happily pay a calm human to just… set it up for them. > > Go door-to-door, post on local Nextdoor / Facebook groups: “I’ll set up a password vault + the 6-digit security code on all your accounts, in person, in one visit.” Use the free tier of [Bitwarden](https://bitwarden.com/) or [Proton Pass](https://proton.me/pass). Flat fee per household. > > 🧠 _Example:_ Lucas, 23, in São Paulo, Brazil, charges R$150 per home visit to install a vault + 2FA for retirees and walk them through it. Word-of-mouth in one apartment building got him 11 visits in a month. ~$300, plus they call him for everything now (recurring tips). > > > 📈 **Timeline:** First visit within DAYS (just post in one local group). Scales by word-of-mouth in your area; caps out at whatever you can physically drive to — so train a friend and split the territory. > **🛠️ Follow-Up Actions** > > | If you want to… | Do this | > | --- | --- | > | Check if YOU’RE in the dump | Search your email at [Have I Been Pwned](https://haveibeenpwned.com/) | > | Stop reusing passwords forever | Set up [Bitwarden](https://bitwarden.com/) (free) tonight | > | Watch a whole company domain | Use [HIBP Domain Search](https://haveibeenpwned.com/DomainSearch) | > | Know which bugs are being exploited NOW | Bookmark the [CISA KEV catalog](https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) | > | Run a (permissioned) phishing test | Grab [GoPhish](https://getgophish.com/) | **⚡ Quick Hits** | You want… | Do this | | --- | --- | | 🔍 Peace of mind | Check your email at [HIBP](https://haveibeenpwned.com/) right now | | 🔐 To never get stuffed | Turn on 2FA + a [password manager](https://proton.me/pass) today | | 💰 To make rent off the panic | Run the [Combolist Canary](https://haveibeenpwned.com/DomainSearch) for 5 local shops | | 🪟 Fast-money timing | Watch the [CISA KEV list](https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) for the next hot bug | | 🧠 Deeper context | Read the [Malwarebytes writeup](https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2026/06/24-billion-stolen-records-found-in-giant-data-dump-check-if-youre-affected) | _They didn’t just leak your password. They sorted it by how easy you are. Change it tonight — and maybe charge your neighbor to change theirs._