It is alleged that global data offense has hit 16 billion accounts; Google, Apple, VPNs can be affected | Mint

In what is described as one of the most extensive data violations ever exposed, security researchers have identified a colossal collection of exposed data containing more than 16 billion individual records. According to a recent investigation doorcybernews, the leaked information is spread about 30 different databases, each of which is apparently composed using different Infosteal Malware tribes. These malicious instruments, often used by cyber criminals and sometimes by ethical hackers for research purposes, can sift sensitive user data from infected devices. The scale of the leak is staggering. While some data sets were relatively smaller, containing only a few million records, other billions of entries had. The compromised data contains credentials linked to important platforms such as Google, Apple, Github, Telegram and popular VPN services. Out of all the thirty data sets, only one – containing 184 million records – has come to light from all the 30 data sets in the media. The database, which is significantly large in itself, “barely the top -20 scratch” of what the researchers eventually uncovered, said theecybernews team. The researchers emphasized that such massive data v have become disturbing routine. “New giant data sets emerge every few weeks,” they warned and underlined the growing threat posed by info -steals malware and a poorly secure data infrastructure. While the exposed databases were only accessible for a short period before they were locked up, the identity of those responsible for uploading or managing the data remains unknown. It also remains difficult to determine exactly how many individuals have been influenced, as many records are likely to contain overlap or duplicate entries. As an estimated 5.5 billion people worldwide now have internet access, the figures indicate that a significant part of the global online population could jeopardize various accounts. Safety experts are calling on businesses and institutions to take stronger measures for cyber security and conduct regular audits of their digital assets to prevent future exposures of this scale.