I am writing some text for a piece of software and am stuck with this sentence:
Use this function if you think that your private key has become known to a third party.
While the sentence explains very well when you should use a specific function, I take issue with the last part has become known to a third party
. I feel that it's too long and not good enough to emphasize what I mean.
I have been looking at compromised
, but that means that the situation happened because of indiscreet, foolish, or reckless behavior
(Oxford American Dictionary), which might not be the case.
I also gave leaked
a try, but that has the connotation that something was knowingly published to a broader audience, which is not what I am looking for.
What I am looking for is an adverb that explains exactly the situation, where a private key to access certain information was obtained by a third party, which can then use it for malicious purposes (they use it for themselves).