These sources are your place to check for data leaks
Well, now that I’m starting my own business and slowly advancing my education and career, I plan to build a personal website. However, there are more things to consider than one may think. We often associate cyberattacks with large corporations or political targets, assuming personal websites are too small to be a real risk. But here’s the truth: if it’s online, it’s vulnerable. Hackers don’t discriminate based on website size; they look for weaknesses wherever they can find them. Your website could be at risk for credential leaks, outdated plugins, unencrypted data, and even admin panel vulnerabilities. Hackers use bots to scan sites in bulk, searching for easy entry points to steal sensitive data, hijack domains, or distribute malware.
But where does that leaked data go? Sometimes, it ends up on the dark web. Even experienced developers and tech-savvy users often overlook how easily personal websites or custom domains can become part of leaked databases. While attention is usually focused on high-profile hacks, smaller sites—especially personal portfolios, blogs, and experimental projects—can quietly be swept into broader breaches. Below are some platforms that aggregate and track compromised data, ranging from public tools to dark web resources.
Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) – haveibeenpwned.com
This widely known platform collects data from hundreds of breaches and allows anyone to search for compromised email addresses and passwords. If an email tied to an old forum account or newsletter sign-up was exposed, HIBP will list when and where it happened — making it especially useful for spotting overlooked exposures linked to personal or portfolio domains.
DeHashed – dehashed.com
Unlike HIBP, DeHashed allows deeper searches across usernames, IP addresses, full names, and even domain names. It pulls from a broad set of leaked databases and makes connections that might otherwise be missed. A custom domain used for registration or email forwarding could easily appear in its index if caught in a larger platform breach.
OSINTLeak – Dark Web Search Engine
OSINTLeak operates like a dark web Google for leaked information. It aggregates credential dumps, compromised databases, and even exposed API keys from dark web forums and breach-sharing sites. Admin credentials from a personal site — especially one using popular CMS software — may surface here if compromised through a common vulnerability.
BreachForums – Dark Web Marketplace
Known for hosting some of the largest and most damaging data leaks, BreachForums has been repeatedly taken down and mirrored. The site offers full database dumps from hacked services, often bundled and categorized by type. Even low-traffic personal websites can appear here, especially if scraped en masse or targeted for practice by low-tier hackers.
LeakBase – Dark Web Identity Database
This platform focuses on selling personally identifiable information — names, addresses, login credentials, and financial data — harvested from various breaches. Data connected to a personal website, such as an email address or domain-specific account, can end up indexed and sold, even if the breach occurred elsewhere.
Proxynova COMB (Compilation of Many Breaches)
COMB is a giant aggregated list of leaked credentials, compiled from hundreds of separate breaches. It’s widely used in cybersecurity research — and unfortunately, also by attackers — for finding reused passwords and cross-referencing emails across different datasets. A reused login from an old personal project might very well be listed here, even years after the breach.
GitHub – FreeDatabreaches Repository
While GitHub isn’t a leak platform per se, repositories like FreeDatabreaches serve as research archives for historic data leaks. These often include raw dumps from breaches, sometimes organized by domain. Personal domains that were part of larger exposed datasets may appear here, long after the sources were taken down or forgotten.
PentesterLab – Learn How Sites Get Hacked
PentesterLab offers real-world security training through practical exercises. It walks users through how common web vulnerabilities — like SQL injection, insecure authentication, or exposed admin panels — are discovered and exploited. What makes it especially useful is that you don’t just read about these vulnerabilities; you exploit them in safe, simulated environments. For personal website owners, this is eye-opening. Even those with strong technical backgrounds are often surprised by how small oversights — a forgotten .git folder, hardcoded credentials, or misconfigured access controls — can lead to full site compromise. PentesterLab effectively shows how your site could end up in one of the databases or dark web markets mentioned earlier.
Pentester.com – Professional Security Testing for Your Website
Pentester.com offers a streamlined platform where companies and individuals can request on-demand security audits by vetted ethical hackers. It’s built for organizations that want to regularly test their digital assets — including personal or small business websites — for vulnerabilities before attackers find them. Rather than just scanning your site automatically, Pentester.com connects you with human security experts who perform tailored penetration tests. These testers check for flaws like misconfigurations, insecure authentication, or injection vulnerabilities, and report them in a structured format. What sets it apart is that it makes high-quality penetration testing more accessible, even for smaller teams or solo developers. If your site handles user data, admin login areas, or API endpoints, using a service like this can help ensure it doesn’t end up on one of the dark web leak sites or in breach archives.
