kleine Austing GmbH

Data Breaches

Back in January 2019, a huge batch of login info was leaked online, including 773 million unique email addresses and passwords from previous breaches. Then, in May 2022, Australian retailer Amart Furniture revealed that its warranty database had been hacked, exposing over 100,000 personal records. More recently, in August 2025, there was a suspected data leak from Italian fashion brand Giglio, which involved over a million email addresses and contact details getting out into the wild.

Identity Theft

Identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information, such as your name, email, or ID, and uses it to pretend they are you. Criminals can then open bank accounts, make online purchases, or even take loans in your name. To see how this can happen, you can check a website like HaveIBeenPwned.com, which shows if your email was exposed in a data breach. This makes it clear how easily stolen data can be misused.

Imagine I walk up to you right now and ask for your ID, date of birth, and passwords. Would you give it to me?

Now think about how often you actually give that information online — to websites, apps, or forms you barely know. If the site isn’t secure, you’re essentially giving strangers the keys to your personal data. We’ll see how dangerous that can be and what you can do to stay safe.

Passwords

Passwords are the most common method people use to access their data, just as almost everyone uses a key to unlock their front door. Now imagine you lose your housekey and someone can just enter and steal all of your stuff. The same happens when someone gets your password, that person can then access all of your data.

To improve your password security, we recommend using a password manager, we will give you a recommendation further down the article. You should also enable MFA (multi-factor authentication) on all sites where it is possible, more on that later.