16 billion passwords leaked: More than 16 billion recently obtained passwords have been made public online in one of the biggest data thefts to history, according to academics. Millions of people are now at risk of cyberattacks as a result of this breach. Here is a short guide to see whether there has been any impact on your account.
In Short
Email, social network, and development platform login information are among the leak’s contents.
Researchers think that a piece of malware known as infostealer is responsible for the theft of this data.
Additionally, black web forums are probably where it is being marketed.
The online release of more than 16 billion passwords has been called one of the worst security breaches in the history of the internet. According to reports, this breach include login credentials for anything from social networking and personal email accounts to development tools like GitHub and, in certain situations, even government websites.
Most significantly, recycled old data is not included in the data that was disclosed in this hack. According to reports from Forbes and Cybernews, most of the credentials are recently obtained and very hacker-usable. As a result, millions of people are vulnerable to online crimes including account hijacking, phishing, and identity theft.
It is thought that the compromised data was obtained through the use of infostealer malware, which is malicious software that covertly infiltrates a user’s computer, retrieves login credentials from browsers or applications, and transmits them to hackers. Direct usage or mass sales of these stolen credentials occur on dark web forums, where access is inexpensive and frequently doesn’t need technical know-how.
To check your credentials-
- In the search field, type your email address. Go to https://haveibeenpwned.com/.
- Click “pwned?” to check whether there are any known breaches involving your email.
- Check to see if any of your frequently used passwords have been compromised by using the “Passwords” page.
What if your data has been compromised?
You should take the following quick actions if you discover that your credentials or email address were compromised:
- Change your password immediately for the impacted service.
- Make sure to update your passwords on any sites where you have used them previously.
- To create secure and one-of-a-kind passwords, you may also utilise a password manager such as Google Password Manager.
- Additionally, to further secure your accounts, turn on two-factor authentication (2FA).
- You may even utilise passkeys, which involve biometric authentication and are therefore more secure than regular passwords.