'Unprecedented Data Breach: Over 10 Billion Passwords Exposed in History's Largest Leak'

Tech & AI | July 8, 2024, 9:23 a.m.

Cybersecurity researchers at Cybernews have revealed the largest collection of stolen passwords ever seen on a crime marketplace named RockYou2024. This leak, created by an individual known as "ObamaCare," contains nearly 10 billion unique plaintext passwords obtained from various data breaches and hacks. The leak poses a significant risk of credential stuffing attacks, where threat actors could exploit the passwords to access online accounts, services, cameras, and industrial hardware. While the seriousness of this breach is evident, it primarily consists of previously leaked passwords, including those from the RockYou2021 database. Users are advised to change their passwords, use unique and strong passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and consider using password manager software to enhance data security. Despite the scale of the RockYou2024 leak, users who have changed passwords since 2021 may not be affected.