Lesson 16: Introduction to Breached and Leaked Databases
This is one of the most controversial yet valuable parts of this course, especially for ethical hackers and cybersecurity experts. In this section, we will focus on breached and leaked databases. These databases can reveal a lot of information about a target.
While many people use these databases to find passwords, they actually contain much more information, such as:
- Names
- Social security numbers
- Passwords
- Emails
- Phone numbers
- And much more
Each piece of data retrieved can be used to get even more information through other data breaches or leaks, or expanded upon other OSINT skills that you have previously learned and will learn in future sections.
We will examine major data leaks such as:
- The Facebook data leak involving over 500 million users
- The Twitter data leak affecting 200 million users
- As well as data breaches from LinkedIn and Snapchat
This will equip you with the knowledge needed to safely download and search for any future data breaches or leaks. By the end of this section, you will have the skills to effectively utilize breached and leaked databases, allowing you to find a wealth of information about your target — including passwords — enhancing your capabilities as an OSINT expert.