25 Sep Ethical Hacker Finds User Passwords In 180 Seconds
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This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine
Sausalito, Calif. – Sep. 25, 2025
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Brandyn Murtagh is a full-time bug bounty-hunter and ethical ‘White Hat’ hacker. He uses the very same techniques as cybercriminals, but for good, helping identify and fix security vulnerabilities to keep people, businesses and their data safe.
Using publicly available information from online data breaches which have been stitched together, Murtagh was able to stun participants by showing them their passwords before working with them to safeguard their accounts to protect against future harm.
Murtagh is working with Virgin Media O2, a British media and telecommunications company, as part of its ongoing ‘Swerve the Scammers’ campaign to shine a light on how cybercriminals operate to help keep people safe, in response to new research from the company.
“It can take just three minutes for a hacker to find a password and put people’s accounts at risk, which is why I’ve teamed up with Virgin Media O2 to help get Brits password secure this summer,” said Murtagh, who recently joined Cybercrime Magazine Podcast host Heather Engel to unpack his exploits.
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