Researchers specializing in security have unearthed what they label as “one of the largest data breaches in history,” involving an astonishing 16 billion logins, with Apple accounts included (formerly known as Apple IDs).
According to the researchers, the compromised information grants cybercriminals “unprecedented access to personal credentials that can be exploited for account takeover, identity theft, and highly targeted phishing …”
A report from last month revealed that Apple login credentials were part of a massive trove of 184 million records that were found unsecured on a web server. This recent discovery suggests that this was merely a fraction of the issue, as further investigation uncovered additional databases.
Cybernews indicates that researchers found 29 additional datasets.
Thus far, they’ve identified 30 exposed datasets containing from tens of millions to over 3.5 billion records each. In total, the researchers have revealed an unfathomable 16 billion records.
The vastness of this discovery complicates rapid evaluations of data overlap; however, it is likely that, despite this, it will remain one of the largest stolen login revelations ever recorded.
The researchers noted that this is not merely a rehashing of older data.
“What’s particularly alarming is the structure and timeliness of these datasets – they aren’t just old breaches being recycled. This represents fresh, weaponizable intelligence at scale,” the researchers commented.
The well-organized nature of the data—comprising URL, username, and password—hints at infostealers as the origin. This type of malware is explicitly designed to acquire login credentials, collecting information in this precise format.
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