10 Billion Passwords Stolen and Published Online – Biggest Leak in History

A hacker known as “ObamaCare” has unleashed a digital storm by publishing a massive document containing nearly 10 billion passwords.

According to information provided to CyberNews researchers who had access to the document, the file, named “rockyou2024.txt,” contains exactly 9,948,575,739 unique passwords in plain text.

According to CyberNews, The leak represents the “largest collection of leaked passwords on the internet.” They also compared these credentials with their own leaked key verifier and determined that it was a dataset of both current security breaches and vulnerabilities that occurred in past years.

The risks associated with publishing passwords online are of great importance to users of various platforms. The availability of this file makes it easy for potential cybercriminals to access online accounts using any of the compromised passwords.

From a technical perspective, providing such data in plain text means that no additional decoding is required, making it easier for entities seeking to exploit these credentials.

Furthermore, this event takes on a more alarming character compared to past incidents. In 2021, more than 8.4 billion unique passwords have already been leaked from the RockYou2021 file.

This incident significantly increased the risks of identity theft and unauthorized access to the personal accounts of millions of users.

Analysts say the new leak adds about 1.5 billion additional passwords to the previous collection. which represents a 15% increase over the 2021 disclosure.

CyberNews stated that since the publication of RockYou2021, cybercriminals continue to collect credentials, revealing new data breaches on various digital platforms.

The constant collection and publication of passwords is an ongoing and increasingly challenging challenge for the cybersecurity community. Trafficking this data on hacker forums and the deep web makes it easy for attackers to access sensitive information.

It should be noted that the scale of this problem does not only affect individual users. Companies and organizations of all sizes are also vulnerable, as leaked passwords can be used to access internal systems, corporate email, and other critical resources.

Computer security professionals confirm the importance of taking strong security measures such as using multi-factor authentication and implementing unique, complex passwords.

To protect passwords that support information, due to the vulnerability inherent in some traditional authentication methods, experts offer various recommendations.

Between them, implementation of password managers that generate and store unique and secure credentials. AlsoThe importance of informing users of the importance of regularly changing passwords and avoiding reusing them across multiple websites or applications is emphasized.

In terms of sanctions, the release of “rockyou2024.txt” also highlights the need for stricter regulation of personal data protection. Some jurisdictions are already taking action.

For example, The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union imposes strict penalties on companies that do not properly protect their customers’ information. However, global implementation and international cooperation in this area still face numerous challenges.

In response to the fallout from this leak, several online services have begun urging their users to check and update their passwords. Various tools allow people to check whether their credentials have been compromised as a result of any of these massive breaches.