Inside the bitshacking File: 41,347 Plaintext Passwords

HEROIC analysts found a plaintext combolist file labeled bitshacking circulating on Telegram, containing 41,347 records of email addresses, passwords, and URLs. The file surfaced on August 23, 2026, and every password inside is stored as plain, readable text. If your address could be among these 41,347 records, scan your email to check your exposure now.

A file this size turns a one-off risk into a volume problem: tens of thousands of working email and password pairs give an attacker plenty of material to automate against other sites. Because nothing protects the passwords, every entry can be used the moment the file is opened.

What's Inside the Bitshacking File

• Email addresses: confirm identity and give attackers a phishing target.
• Plaintext passwords: readable and reusable without any cracking.
• URLs: show the exact login page each credential pair was captured from.

Why the Size of This File Matters

With 41,347 entries, this file gives an attacker enough volume to run automated login attempts across email, banking, and shopping sites at scale rather than by hand. Anyone who reused a listed password on another account is at immediate risk of that account being taken over.

Combolists at this scale are usually built by merging login pairs from several smaller leaks into one large list rather than pulling from a single company's own systems, then packaged with matching URLs so buyers know exactly where each credential should be tried.

What to Do If You're Part of the Bitshacking File

Scan your email to check whether your address is among the 41,347 listed. Change your password anywhere you reused it, starting with email and financial accounts. This applies to work email accounts just as much as personal ones.