NEW YORK — Security experts from Cybernews have uncovered that billions of login details have been leaked and compiled into online datasets, allowing cybercriminals unprecedented access to users’ everyday accounts.
A recent report by Cybernews reveals the discovery of 30 datasets containing massive amounts of login information, culminating in 16 billion compromised credentials. This includes user passwords for widely used platforms like Google, Facebook, and Apple.
The figure of 16 billion is almost twice the current global population, suggesting that many individuals might have had credentials for multiple accounts compromised. Cybernews acknowledges the likelihood of duplicates in the data, making it challenging to determine the exact number of people or accounts affected.
It’s also important to note that the leaked login information doesn’t span from a single source, such as one breach targeting a company. Instead, it appears that the data was stolen through multiple events over time, and then compiled and briefly exposed publicly, which is when Cybernews reports that its researchers discovered it.
Various infostealers are most likely the culprit, Cybernews noted. Infostealers are a form of malicious software that breaches a victim’s device or systems to take sensitive information.
Many questions remain about these leaked credentials, including whose hands the login credentials are in now. But, as data breaches become more and more common in today’s world, experts continue to stress the importance of maintaining key “cyber hygiene.”
If you’re worried about your account data potentially being exposed in a recent breach, the first thing you can do is change your password – and avoid using the same or similar login credentials on multiple sites. If you find it too hard to memorize all your different passwords, consider a password manager or passkey. And also add multifactor authentication, which can serve as a second layer of verification through your phone, email or USB authenticator key.
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