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Glossary
Credential Leak

A Credential Leak is the unauthorized exposure and distribution of sensitive login information, such as usernames, email addresses, and passwords. While a data breach often targets a database, Infostealers generate credential leaks by harvesting data directly from end-user devices, making the leaked information highly accurate and immediately actionable for attackers.

What is a Credential Leak? The Anatomy of Identity Exposure

A Credential Leak is often the first domino to fall in a major cyberattack. Whether it's a massive database breach at a global corporation or a targeted Infostealer infection on a single employee's laptop, the result is the same: your private login details end up in the hands of malicious actors. Once leaked, these credentials become a tradable commodity on the Dark Web.


How Credential Leaks Propagate

Credential theft is usually categorized by its source:

  1. Bulk Breaches: Attackers compromise a service provider and dump the entire user database. These lists often contain millions of entries but may include old or hashed passwords.
  2. Infostealer Logs: These are highly localized but extremely dangerous. Because an infostealer captures the "live" password currently used in a browser, these leaks have a nearly 100% success rate for Account Takeover (ATO).

The Business Impact of Leaked Credentials

For organizations, a credential leak is more than a privacy issue; it's a structural vulnerability:

  1. Credential Stuffing Attacks: Attackers use automated tools to try leaked password combinations across various corporate portals, banking sites, and VPNs.
  2. Access Brokering: High-value corporate credentials (e.g., IT admin or HR manager) are sold to "Initial Access Brokers" who then facilitate ransomware attacks.
  3. MFA Bypass: If the leak includes session cookies alongside passwords, attackers can bypass Multi-Factor Authentication entirely.


Monitoring Leaks with Dark Radar

Prevention is not always possible, but rapid response is. Dark Radar acts as an early warning system by monitoring Dark Web markets, Telegram channels, and "paste" sites for any mentions of your organization’s email domains. By identifying a Credential Leak within minutes of its publication, security teams can force password resets before the unauthorized access is even attempted.


In summary; A Credential Leak is the digital equivalent of losing your master keys. Constant monitoring and a proactive identity security policy are essential to neutralizing the threat of exposed credentials.


Related Terms
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Credential Stuffing

Credential Stuffing is a cyberattack where stolen account credentials (usernames and passwords), often obtained from data breaches or Infostealer logs, are used to gain unauthorized access to other unrelated online services through automated login attempts.

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Command and Control (C2 / C&C) Server

A Command and Control (C2 / C&C) Server is a centralized infrastructure used by threat actors to send instructions to systems compromised by malware, such as Infostealers, and to receive the data exfiltrated from those infected devices.

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CRYPTER (The Obfuscation & Evasion Tool)

A Crypter is a software tool used by threat actors to encrypt, obfuscate, and hide a malicious stub to make it FUD (Fully Undetected) by security software such as Antivirus (AV), EDR, and XDR systems. It serves as a protective shell that prevents static analysis by altering the file's signature and structure while preserving its malicious functionality during execution.