According to a report published by Cybernews this week, login information for 16 billion accounts has been leaked online.
The number is double the world’s entire population.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE“This is the mother of all data breaches,” said Ed Peters, CEO of Irving-based Data Discovery Sciences.
The report, published by researchers at Cybernews, says the usernames and passwords open access to almost any online service imaginable, including Apple, Facebook and Google, and likely come from various infostealers—malicious software that breaches a victim’s device to take sensitive information.
Get top local stories delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP “We tend to think of a lone hacker going and stealing your data. That's not the case,” said Peters.
According to the researchers, the records are scattered across 30 different databases. Cybercriminals could use the information to exploit users through account takeovers, identity theft, and targeted phishing attacks.
“Everything comes down to good hygiene in the end,” said Peters, who recommends protecting your data by changing your passwords, using passkeys and two-factor authentication.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The silver lining, according to Cybernews, is that the datasets were only exposed briefly—long enough for researchers to uncover them, but not long enough to determine who was controlling the massive set of records.
“If you use two-factor authentication, that's a major step up right there,” he said.
