Nagyvilág Tech 16 billion passwords leaked: the most significant cyberattack in history

16 billion passwords leaked: the most significant cyberattack in history

Yesterday, 17:08

Forbes writes that on June 18, an unprecedented data leak occurred on the Internet. According to researchers from the Cybernews platform, about 16 billion login details, including passwords, were made publicly available. Experts are sure that this is the largest leak in history, which was caused by several malicious programs (info stealers).

The leaked data includes login details for all major platforms, including Apple, Google, Facebook, GitHub, Telegram, and government services. According to researchers, the information was mainly in URL links, accompanied by usernames and passwords. This makes it possible to log in to any online system without additional actions.

The founders of Keeper Security called the leak a “mass exploitation diagram,” noting that this is a new data set and not a repetition of previous leaks. There is only one exception: the May leak of 184 million passwords. All other datasets have not been disclosed until now.

Each of the 30 datasets discovered contains tens of millions to 3.5 billion records. According to the investigation, all this information has already appeared on the dark web and is available for relatively small sums of money.

Google has already advised users to switch passwords to “passkeys.” The US Federal Bureau of Investigation urges them to refrain from clicking on suspicious links, especially in SMS messages.

Prepared by Alvard Baghdasaryan