The Largest Data Leak Including 8.4 Billion Passwords Is Online

iOS 15 and many other software improvements have been unveiled just recently. And it’s logical that millions of Apple fans began praising the new system. But we are here to inform you that there are not many reasons for fun. As BGR reports, those privacy features are going to be quite critical once the new system is rolled out with iOS 15.  Moreover, none of the current systems can ensure data leak prevention.

The information comes from CyberNews that says a 100GB text file containing 8.4 billion passwords is now available on a popular hacker forum. The file is titled as “RockYou2020” and we think it combines passwords stolen via previous data breaches and leaks.

By the way, if you remember, back in 2009, there was a huge data leak, namely RockYou. At that time, “threat actors hacked their way into the social app website’s servers and got their hands on more than 32 million user passwords stored in plain text.”

Earlier this year, in various relevant forums and websites, we saw discussions saying that there is a the so-called “Compilation of Many Breaches,” or COMB. It got such a name because the scale is incomparable with all previous leaks. Say, the largest data leak included 3.2 billion email-and-password pairings. The information was generated based on existing data stolen from companies like Netflix and LinkedIn.

Are Your Passwords In This Data Leak?

Now, the new file includes more than 8.4 billion passwords, which is more than double that the previous collection. The Earth’s population exceeds 7 billion. This simply means that the leaked data file includes at least one of our passwords. We mean most likely at least one of our accounts is on the list. To check whether your account are there, you can use CyberNews’ tool.

“By combining 8.4 billion unique password variations with other breach compilations that include usernames and email addresses, threat actors can use the RockYou2021 collection to mount password dictionary and password spraying attacks against untold numbers of online accounts,” CyberNews notes. “Since most people reuse their passwords across multiple apps and websites, the number of accounts affected by credential stuffing and password spraying attacks in the wake of this leak can potentially reach millions, if not billions.”

Recently, we saw many cases when hackers were selling stolen data on close forums. It’s a new way of earning money. But this is also alarming because cybercrime is gaining momentum and there is no measure that could withstand hackers. And who does suffer the most? Of course, we – ordinary users.