995 crore passwords were stolen in the largest data breach ever: report

According to the title "Forbes", the hacker called "Obamacare" leaked 9.95 million passwords. The report added that the information was released on Thursday with the name of Rockyou2024. According to researchers, this is considered the biggest cryptographic data breach ever.

“Basically, the RockYou2024 leak is a compilation of real passwords used by individuals around the world. Revealing that many passwords for threat actors substantially heightens the risk of credential stuffing attacks,” researchers at Cybernews said.

“Threat actors could exploit the RockYou2024 password compilation to conduct brute-force attacks and gain unauthorised access to various online accounts used by individuals who employ passwords included in the dataset,” they added995 Crore Passwords Stolen In Biggest Data Breach Ever: Report

New Delhi: A hacker, who goes by the name “ObamaCare”, has leaked 995 crore passwords, as per Forbes. The information was released on Thursday using a dataset called Rockyou2024, the report added.

According to researchers, this is considered the biggest password data breach ever. "Essentially, the RockYou2024 leak is a collection of real passwords used by individuals around the world. Cybernews researchers note that the leak of many passwords by threat actors greatly increases the risk of credential attacks. "Threat actors could use RockYou2024's password harvesting to carry out brute force attacks and gain unauthorized access to various online accounts used by individuals using passwords on their profiles," they added.

According to the researchers, the passwords were leaked using old and new data leaks. "Furthermore, RockYou2024 combined with hacker forums and other leaked databases on the market (such as databases containing users' email addresses and other credentials) can lead to various data breaches, financial fraud and identity theft," the team said. This is not the first time that Rockyou2024 has leaked passwords. Before that, hackers leaked about 8.4 billion text passwords, the report added.

People are advised to follow cyber hygiene practices to avoid falling prey to online crime. In April, the University Grant Commission asked all higher educational institutions (HEIs) to participate in a webinar on 'Cyber Hygiene "As per the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs to promote mass awareness of students in the prevention of cybercrime, all higher education institutions (HEIs) are requested to participate in a 1-hour live webinar on 'Cyber Hygiene' by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (l4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, scheduled for April 3, 2024, Wednesday from 2:00 PM to 3:00 pm,\" read the official notification by UGC.