16 Billion Passwords Leaked! Hackers Breach Google, Apple, Facebook Logins

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): If you use accounts like Google, Apple, Facebook, GitHub or Telegram, then be alert! A recent report has made a shocking revelation that more than 16 billion log-in credentials are being sold on the dark web. This is being described as the biggest data leak till date, which has put the online security of crores of people around the world at risk.

According to Forbes and Cybernews reports, security researchers have been tracking a large Infostealer malware operation since the beginning of this year. This operation leaked about 30 large data sets, each containing about 3.5 billion user data records. These records include emails, passwords, and log-in credentials.

This leaked data includes user accounts of many well-known companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, Telegram, GitHub and even government agencies.

What is the danger?

Experts say that this leak can pose the following dangers to users:

Phishing attack: Fraud through fake emails and websites

ID Theft: Misuse of your identity

Loss of account control: Hackers can take complete control of your account

Considering this threat serious, Google has advised billions of users to change their passwords and adopt 'Passkeys' technology. Passkeys is a new security technology that uses biometrics (such as fingerprint or face ID) instead of passwords.

How to protect yourself?

According to cyber experts, take the following steps immediately to avoid danger:

✅ Change passwords of all important accounts immediately

✅ Create unique and strong passwords for each account

✅ Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

✅ Start using passkeys wherever possible

✅ Avoid clicking on any suspicious links or emails

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