In addition to alerting you about personal data leaks, which may include email addresses, phone numbers, credit card info, passwords and more, Guardio also notifies you about activity that may lead to future problems.
In this case, Guardio notified you that a password you’re using has already appeared in at least one data breach.
This doesn’t necessarily mean YOUR password was leaked, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that the leaked password is tied to any of your personal information.
However, it indicates not only that someone else has used this same password before, but also that it’s already been exposed online (most likely on hacking forums)
What’s the risk of using a compromised password?
Even if a hacker doesn’t know that the password you’re using is tied to your name, email address, or phone number, they could still gain access to your accounts through a hacking method through something called a brute force cyber attack.
What’s a brute force attack?
A brute force attack is when a hacker uses automated software to repeatedly guess combinations of passwords and email addresses/phone numbers until they get it right and can hack your account. So if you’ve ever had other personal data leaked (like your name, email address, or phone number), using a password that’s also been compromised increases the chance of a hacker guessing the right combination of credentials and gaining access to your account.
What should I do?
Make sure you’re only using unique passwords. Generic ones like “Password123” won’t cut it.
Update all your passwords every few months. If you’re worried about keeping track of all your passwords, consider a password manager.
Set up 2FA for extra account security