Troy Hunt launches HIBP 2.0 data breach search engine

Troy Hunt, an Australian cybersecurity expert, has released a new version of his data breach search engine called Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) 2.0.

The HIBP website has been completely revamped and offers an improved search feature. There is also a new central dashboard that brings different features together, an option to receive notifications about data breaches, and confetti guns.

Another new addition is the so-called Breach Page, which describes what happened and what data has been compromised. It also provides recommendations on what users can do when they’ve become victims of a data breach. Some of the tips include changing passwords, checking other online accounts, setting up multi-factor authentication, and using a password manager.

In addition, HIBP’s domain search function has been improved to include filtering on email addresses and the most recent breach. The verification of domain ownership has also been completely rewritten and given a simpler, cleaner interface.

“We still have work to do to make the non-email verification methods smoother, but that was the case before, too, so at least we haven't regressed. That'll happen shortly, promise!” Hunt says in a blog post.

Support for searching for usernames and phone numbers has been removed. According to Hunt, an answer to the question ‘Have I Been Pwned?’ can always be answered “without loading those two hard-to-parse fields, which usually aren't present in most breaches anyway.”

Good news for the fans: Hunt has added an official HIBP merchandise store. Hunt admits that adding the merch store was “probably the worst possible use of our time, but it was a bit of a passion project for Charlotte [Hunt’s wife, ed.].” Time well spent or not, now you can officially buy HIBP merchandise.

HIBP was launched in December 2013 by a web security consultant, Hunt, as a website where people could check whether their personal data had been compromised in a data breach. The search engine gained notoriety with the Ashley Madison breach in October 2015, when Hunt received 13.5 million users’ email addresses and plaintext passwords.

Other massive data breaches in HIBP’s database include Facebook (510 million accounts, 2021), MySpace (360 million accounts, 2009), and LinkedIn (125.7 million accounts, 2021).