Over 80,000 Sensitive Password and Key Files Leaked Online via Popular Formatting Tools

Cybersecurity firm watchTowr has uncovered a significant data breach involving more than 80,000 exposed files containing sensitive credentials, authentication keys, and configuration details. The leak originated from widely used online formatting tools such as JSONFormatter and CodeBeautify, where developers inadvertently pasted production-level secrets while troubleshooting code.

The compromised data includes usernames, passwords, database connection strings, cloud access keys, and even SSH session recordings. Government agencies, financial institutions, and healthcare organizations are among the affected entities, raising serious concerns about systemic vulnerabilities in developer workflows.

watchTowr's findings highlight a critical gap in enterprise security protocols, as employees continue to misuse formatting utilities for handling live production data. The firm's blog post starkly notes the predictable outcome of such practices, emphasizing the urgent need for improved developer education and secure coding environments.