Cyber news said that there are 30 collections of data being released publicly or for sale, each containing tens of millions to more than 3.5 billion records. In total, up to 16 billion login information, including account name, email address and password, has been leaked.
However, only one of the data sets has been previously mentioned in the media. The remaining episodes are larger in scale and do not have complete information about the number of victims affected.
Some data points are named after famous platforms such as Telegram, GitHub, Facebook, or place names such as the Russian Federation. This shows that the scope of data sources is very large, not limited by specific countries or platforms.
According to Cyber news, this is a huge data warehouse that cybercriminals have collected over a long period of time by using information stealing malware (infostealer malware) infected on users' computers. alarmingly, out of 30 discovered databases, 29 were completely new, never previously announced.
A common feature is that the data is arranged in order including https, login name and password, exactly the way malware currently collects data but still ensures real-life usage for users.
Even with only 1% of logins abused, more than 160 million accounts could be hacked. The consequences are not only loss of access to email or social networks, but can also lead to loss of bank accounts, identity theft, blackmail, or even becoming targets in malware attacks.
It is not ruled out that phishing or SIM exchange campaigns will also be implemented more strongly, when bad guys use existing information to deceive victims or network operators.
