16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked: Google, Meta, Apple Urge Users To Upgrade Passwords
Massive data breaches involving the passwords of a whopping 16 million logins have been reported, constituting one of the largest data breaches in history. The cybersecurity researchers have confirmed the leak of 16 billion login credentials, including passwords and usernames of Apple, Google, Facebook and Meta’s other platforms, according to a report by Forbes.
The report points out that the research exposed at least 30 datasets, with each of them containing up to 3.5 billion records. The data leaked includes social media and VPN logins as well as corporate and developer platforms. Researchers say that the development is not just a leak but an orchestrated plan for mass exploitation.
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The password leak can be exploited for phishing campaigns, account manipulation, business email compromise and other personal and business gains. As per the researchers, the credentials in question are of high value for widely used services and carry with them far-reaching implications.
“These aren’t just old beaches being recycled. This is fresh, weaponisable intelligence at scale,” the news portal quoted the researchers.
None who uses the internet might be immune from the consequences of the data leak, as the breach includes logins for Google and Gmail, Apple ID, Facebook and Instagram, GitHub and Telegram, government portals, and many other sites that the ordinary person uses for various purposes every day. Hackers, with the leaked data, could easily access accounts, steal data and take control of them.
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To ward off the adverse consequences caused by the credential leak, users have been urged by several entities to upgrade their credentials. Google recently asked users to enhance their Gmail account’s security by moving on from older sign-in methods like passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA). It has also urged users to upgrade accounts to passkeys as well as social sign-ins for better control over their accounts.
Facebook recently directed users to adopt the passkey login of the app as well as Messenger. Some of the important measures the experts suggest that users can do to maximize their data security are changing passwords, such as email, banking, and government websites. Users are urged to create unique and strong passwords, and turn to two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible.
The experts also advise being careful while clicking on links that look dubious, especially if they come from unknown texts or emails.
