Automated bots take a file like 60K MIXED HQ.txt and "stuff" those 60,000 pairs into the login pages of popular services at lightning speed. Even a 0.1% success rate yields 60 hijacked accounts. The Life Cycle of the File A database is stolen from a vulnerable website.
Hackers know that people are creatures of habit. If your login for a defunct knitting blog was leaked in 2019, there’s a statistically high chance you’re using that same email and password for your Netflix, Spotify, or even your bank account today. 60K MIXED HQ.txt
The file is sold or shared. Once a list hits the "Public" sphere (often labeled as "HQ"), it has usually already been milked for value by the person who compiled it. Why You Should Care Automated bots take a file like 60K MIXED HQ
If the passwords were encrypted (hashed), hackers use powerful GPUs to "crack" them back into plain text. Hackers know that people are creatures of habit
Different breaches are merged into "Mixed" lists to increase the odds of finding active accounts.