Massive Password Breach: Nearly 10 Billion Passwords Leaked – Update Yours Now

Security researchers have issued a warning about one of the largest databases of leaked passwords ever to emerge online, according to a Forbes report.

The database, named “RockYou2024,” is a text file containing an astounding 9,948,575,739 unique passwords stored in plain text. It was posted on a forum popular with hackers at the end of last week.

CyberNews experts have indicated that this massive collection of stolen passwords could lead to a surge in data breaches, financial fraud, and identity theft, as reported by GB News.

The database appears to be a mixture of data from both old and new breaches.

“The RockYou2024 leak is essentially a compilation of real-world passwords used by individuals globally. The exposure of such a vast number of passwords significantly increases the risk of credential stuffing attacks,” the researchers noted.

Credential stuffing is a common method hackers use to gain unauthorized access to accounts by exploiting stolen login credentials from one website on multiple other platforms.

Using the same login information across various platforms makes individuals particularly vulnerable to this type of cyber-attack.