16B passwords leaked in record-breaking data breach
This prompted Google to urge billions of users to change their passwords. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also warned US citizens to avoid clicking on suspicious links received via text messages.
The leak was uncovered as part of an ongoing investigation launched earlier this year by the team at Cybernews, who discovered 30 separate data sets. Experts described the incident as a coordinated mass exploitation scheme.
What raised particular concern among investigators was that nearly all of the data sets contained previously unreported information, making this a completely new and unprecedented security crisis.
Investigators believe the source of the breach was malware designed to harvest sensitive data from devices, including passwords saved in browsers, messaging apps, and cryptocurrency wallets.
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