Pastes

"Pastes" refer to content published on platforms like Pastebin, often indicative of data breaches. Attackers commonly share either partial or complete dumps of compromised data on these platforms. Monitoring such paste sites can provide users with early awareness of breaches, allowing them to take steps to mitigate potential risks.

When searching for an email address on this platform, both known data breaches and pastes are simultaneously queried. Results display side by side, indicating whether the address was found in a breach or in a paste.

Variety of Paste Formats

Pastes on these platforms have diverse structures, ranging from
straightforward to cryptic. However, certain patterns commonly
emerge

Database Dumps

These often consist of scripts to recreate database structures, containing comma-delimited fields representing various database columns, sometimes including hashed passwords.

Email and Password Pairs

Compromised systems are frequently listed with usernames (often email addresses) and passwords, occasionally accompanied by additional data.

Logs and Code Blocks

These may range from compromised system logs to internal system code.

Random Collections of Email Addresses

Often lacking context, email addresses appear alongside others, potentially indicating a serious breach.

Paste content

"Pastes" refer to content published on platforms like Pastebin, often indicative of data breaches.

Understanding the Role of Paste Sources
Understanding the Role of Paste Sources

Paste services like Pastebin host millions of pastes, with thousands added daily. Instead of analyzing each paste individually, HIBH monitors new pastes announced by Twitter accounts listed as Paste Sources.

Assessing Paste Reliability
Assessing Paste Reliability

While an email address appearing on a paste site suggests potential compromise, it doesn't guarantee it. The scanning process is automated, lacking human review. Users are encouraged to evaluate the paste's impact themselves if their address appears.

Paste Duplication
Paste Duplication

Pastes may appear multiple times on platforms like Pastebin, either identical or with slight variations. This could result from individuals publishing it repeatedly or from multiple people sharing the same breach data.

Role of Have I Been Hacked
Role of Have I Been Hacked

HIBH doesn't store original paste content, only metadata like title and author, if available. Therefore, it's unable to identify duplicate pastes. Human discretion is advised if similar pastes are encountered.

Acceptable Use and Transient Pastes
Acceptable Use and Transient Pastes

Paste services outline guidelines for acceptable use, yet email lists, login details, and personal information frequently appear. These transient pastes often appear briefly before removal.

HIBH typically retrieves paste data
HIBH typically retrieves paste data

HIBH typically retrieves paste data within 40 seconds of publication, storing only metadata and email addresses. Additional data isn't stored, aligning with the service's focus on email address searchability.