In a startling revelation, cyber security researchers have discovered what is being called the “Mother of All Breaches”, with over 26 billion personal data exposed. This data breach, likely the largest ever recorded, affected multiple platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn and Dropbox.
The breach was discovered by researchers from Security Discovery and CyberNews, who found an unsecured database containing a massive amount of data totaling 12 terabytes, Forbes reported. Leaked information includes sensitive personal details that can potentially lead to an increase in cybercriminal activities such as identity theft, sophisticated phishing schemes, targeted cyber attacks and unauthorized access to personal and sensitive accounts.
Among the compromised records were 1.5 billion from Tencent’s QQ, 504 million from Weibo, 360 million from MySpace, 281 million from Twitter, 251 million from LinkedIn and 220 million from AdultFriendFinder. Notably, the leak also includes data from various government organizations in the United States, Brazil, Germany, the Philippines, Turkey and others.
Experts warn that the leaked data, which appears to be a compilation of data from thousands of previous breaches and data leaks, poses a significant threat. Although there may be many duplicate records within the database, the presence of usernames and password combinations is of particular concern. This can lead to an increase in credential stuffing attacks, where cybercriminals use stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to multiple user accounts.
Jake Moore, a global cybersecurity advisor for ESET, emphasized the gravity of the situation, advising those affected to change their passwords, be alert to phishing emails and ensure all accounts are secured with two-factor authentication .
To check if your personal data has been compromised, individuals can use tools like Cybernews’ data leak checker or the well-known Have I Been Pwned service. These tools allow users to enter their email address or phone number to see if their account information has been leaked in historical data breaches.
A significant portion of the exposed data includes data compiled from previous breaches, however the scale of this breach is unprecedented. In 2019, Verifications.io experienced a significant breach, exposing almost a billion records, marking it as one of the most significant breaches of that time. Notable breaches from the past include MySpace (360 million), Twitter (281 million), LinkedIn (251 million), and AdultFriendFinder (220 million).
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