News spread early Fridaythat a record-breaking data breach exposed 16 billion passwords to the world,korean butefuk erotice including user credentials for the likes of Facebook, Google, Apple, and tons of other places. Some commentators were quick to call it the largest password leak in history, and in terms of raw records exposed, that’s mostly, technically true. However, these records did notcome from a single breach — or even a new breach. Instead, they came from many smaller ones.
Data breaches are an unfortunate reality in the digital age, and some of the breaches can be quite large. However, not every release of stolen data is the direct result of a recent cybersecurity breach. As Mashable recently reported in our countdown of the top cybersecurity breaches of 2025, hackers will often compile information from multiple prior hacks and combine them into one massive file. This is becoming a trend in the darker corners of the internet. The end result is more of a “greatest hits” rather than a new, noteworthy hack.
Such is the case here. Per Bleeping Computer, the information contained in the 16 billion records was most likely compiled from a host of prior hacks, compiled, and then released as a single set of data. It was likely circulating for some time before being compiled, and likely came from a combination of breaches, hacks, phishing scams, and malware.
This is backed up by a tweetfrom vx-underground, an educational website that specializes in malware and cybersecurity. “Someone took a bunch of existing leaks, threw it all together, and slapped a NEW stick [sic] on it.”
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
However, the existence of all this data in one spot is still rather damaging, as cybercriminals now have access to all of this data in a single spot, potentially making it much easier to concoct more effective phishing scams or engage in identity theft.
The largest single-point data breach in history is still Yahoo’s 2016 breach, when hackers stole data about all three billion of the website’s users.
Mashable is live at VidCon 2025:Check out our VidCon coveragewith your favorite content creators now.
With so many records in one spot — even if some of them are legacy data that is no longer relevant — it’s still probably a good idea to take an audit of your online services to make sure you’re protected. A good place to start is Have I Been Pwned, a website dedicated to showing data breaches. Simply go there, enter your email address(es), and the site will show you which credentials have been exposed to the public.
We recommend changing those credentials immediately if you haven’t already, and using a strong password when you do so, as they are more difficult to crack. After that, you’ll want to enable multi-factor authenticationon every account you possibly can, as the added layer helps keep criminals from stealing your life if they obtain your password. That should be the bare minimum, but there are plenty of other steps you can taketo keep yourself safe online as well.
Have a story to share about a scam or security breach that impacted you? Tell us about it. Email [email protected]with the subject line "Safety Net" or use this form.Someone from Mashable will get in touch.
Topics Cybersecurity
NYT Strands hints, answers for August 13Wordle today: The answer and hints for August 16Australian breaker Raygun becomes an instant viral hit at 2024 Paris OlympicsWordle today: The answer and hints for August 10NYT mini crossword answers for August 13Pixel Watch 3 vs. Pixel Watch 2: What are the differences?Save 15% on Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials items'Close to You' review: Elliot Page trans drama gets risky in improvisationBest unlocked phone deals for the week of August 14, 2024Best robot vacuum deals this weekThe world's first triChatGPT Voice Mode is capable of some freaky stuff — but here's how OpenAI is tackling it.NYT Strands hints, answers for August 14Best laptop dealsX must pay $600K to employee who didn't click yes to work 'hardcore'Instagram is failing to protect female politicians from abuse and hate speechFree Max subscription (with ads) with DashPass annual planWhat to expect when a tech bubble burstsWordle today: The answer and hints for August 13Wordle today: The answer and hints for August 16 Takuma Sato just became the first Asian to win the Indy 500 'Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite' roster leaks, no X Kindergarteners take photos of each other at graduation and yes, we need a tissue Smell like cheesy pizza with these novelty bath salts Footage of how a Chinese factory made fake Budweiser beers will gross you out 'Overwatch' teases space gorillas and the lunar colony they live on Who knew an innocent photo with Pikachu could get so weird? 'Overwatch' Reddit just found the most magically dumb minigame Watch this man transform into Wonder Woman before your very eyes Alanis Morissette's 'Jagged Little Pill' musical to take the stage in 2018 Asus' Blue Cave router has a gaping hole in it, but manages to look pretty sweet Jason Momoa performs stirring haka in support of UFC fighter There's now a crowdfunding campaign to buy stolen hacking tools I replaced my smartphone with a Nokia 3310, and I never want to go back After destroying humans, Google's AlphaGo hangs up its Go gloves 'The Bachelorette' was a two Tennis player harasses female reporter in cringeworthy TV interview Terrifying footage emerges from raging storm in Moscow Steve Ballmer shows off his AI 'Wonder Woman' is the most inspiring superhero movie in years
3.1195s , 8288.0703125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【korean butefuk erotice】,Prosperous Times Information Network