Why Reusing Passwords is a Digital Death Sentence

The Domino Effect of a Single Leaked Password

You might think, 'Who cares if my password for that old forum leaks?' Hackers care. They know that most people reuse passwords, and they exploit this weakness with an automated attack called credential stuffing.

How Credential Stuffing Works

1. The Breach: A website with weak security is hacked. Attackers download a list of email addresses and passwords.
2. The List: These lists, containing millions of credentials, are sold or shared on the dark web.
3. The Attack: An attacker uses bots to automatically try these leaked email/password combinations on thousands of high-value websites—your bank, email provider, Amazon, etc.
4. The Payoff: Because so many people reuse passwords, the bots inevitably find matches and gain access.

The Takeover Begins

Once a hacker has access to your email account, it's effectively game over. They can:

• Read all your private communications.
• Initiate password resets for every other account you own.
• Access financial information on shopping sites.
• Use your identity to scam your friends and family.

The Only Defense: Password Uniqueness

The only way to defend against credential stuffing is to use a strong, unique password for every single online account. This is humanly impossible to manage without a password manager. When you use a password manager, a breach on one site is contained. The dominoes can't fall because there's nothing for them to hit.