New Global Email Data Breach.

[#1]

Quote from https://haveibeenpwned.com/

"In January 2019, a large collection of credential stuffing lists (combinations of email addresses and passwords used to hijack accounts on other services) was discovered being distributed on a popular hacking forum. The data contained almost 2.7 billion records including 773 million unique email addresses alongside passwords those addresses had used on other breached services. Full details on the incident and how to search the breached passwords are provided in the blog post The 773 Million Record "Collection #1" Data Breach.

Breach date: 7 January 2019
Date added to HIBP: 16 January 2019
Compromised accounts: 772,904,991
Compromised data: Email addresses, Passwords"

You can check whether you have been hacked using the web site shown above. My PN email address is on it. Strongly advise anyone who also finds their address there to change their password to a very strong one asap or even pdq!

[#2]

Well, just checked all eight of my email addys on that site, and not one breach - even on a couple that are 10 and 18 years old.

[#3]

What I really would like to know is how someone can get past (in my case) PN's security to lift passwords. 

Unless, of course, the data is old stuff being recirculated in the web from the major intrusion PN had ten or twelve years ago. If that's the case then old passwords are also being recirculated.

[#4]

When you say 'My PN address is on it' -is it one you only use to communicate with PN, or is it also used used for other sites?

[#5]

The email address I use for Plusnet is unique to them and I'm happy to report that it doesn't show as 'pwned' on the site in the OP.

[#6]

@jab1

I use the same email address for general emails and also to communicate with PN, but the password for the PN email is unique to the email address. In other words, I don't use the email password anywhere else.