Firefox is adding ‘Have I Been Pwned’ alerts

Mozilla’s Firefox will soon feature a tool called “Firefox Monitor” that alerts users to data breaches via a partnership with Have I Been Pwned.

Have I Been Pwned maintains a database of major breaches so people can know when sensitive data including usernames and passwords are stolen by hackers. Troy Hunt, the Australian security researcher behind Have I Been Pwned, detailed the new trial integration between HIBP and Firefox in a blog post.

Here’s how Firefox Monitor looks:

“This is major because Firefox has an install base of hundreds of millions of people which significantly expands the audience that can be reached once this feature rolls out to the mainstream,” Hunt wrote.

Besides Firefox, Hunt’s Have I Been Pwned is being integrated into a wide array of apps. The password manager 1Password now allows users to search the Have I Been Pwned database from within the app.

Although it’s long been a darling of the cybersecurity crowd, Have I Been Pwned is increasingly moving into the mainstream. Breached sites increasingly point users to the service. Even law enforcement and other government agencies are increasingly recommending the site in order to stay aware of privacy and security incidents.

The site boasts records from 289 hacked websites, including over 5.1 billion compromised accounts. The chances are that you’re on the list somewhere.

Firefox Monitor launches on a trial basis next week as 250,000 Firefox mainly American users will be invited to give it a try. Based on the reaction, work will continue on the integration until the service is available by default to all Firefox users. (Of course, we recommend checking the site if you want the alerts now.)

In what was unheard of just a few years ago, web browsers like Firefox, Apple’s Safari and Microsoft Edge are being upgraded on the privacy and security front.

Firefox has been at the forefront of this movement, adding more security and privacy features with new versions. The Tor Project recently announced that it’s working with Mozilla to integrate the anonymity tool into the browser.