The threat landscape continues to evolve, and the message from cybersecurity experts is clear: digital vigilance and routine cyber hygiene are now non-negotiable.
The global cybersecurity community is sounding the alarm following what Cybernews has dubbed the largest data breach in history, revealing a staggering 16 billion login credentials scattered across 30 different databases. While some records are believed to overlap, researchers emphasise that much of the data stems from recent infostealer malware attacks, not just recycled incidents from the past. This latest revelation significantly raises the stakes in the ongoing battle against credential theft.
Commenting on the report, Alexandra Fedosimova, Digital Footprint Analyst at Kaspersky, explains: “16 billion records is a figure nearly double the Earth’s population, and it’s hard to believe such a vast amount of information could be exposed. This ‘leak’ refers to a compilation of 30 user data breaches from various sources. These data sets (‘logs’) are primarily obtained by cybercriminals through infostealers — malicious applications that steal information — and such incidents occur daily.
Cybernews researchers collected this data over six months from the start of the year. Their dataset likely contains duplicates due to the persistent issue of password reuse among users. Therefore, although it was noted that none of the databases they found had been previously reported, this doesn’t mean these credentials hadn’t previously leaked from other services or been collected by other infostealers.”
Kaspersky telemetry further supports the scale of the threat, reporting a 21% global increase in password stealer detections from 2023 to 2024. Infostealer malware has emerged as one of the most pervasive cyber threats, compromising millions of devices and extracting credentials, cookies, and sensitive data — all of which are then aggregated and circulated on the dark web.
Dmitry Galov, Head of Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) for Russia and CIS, added: “Cybernews research speaks of an aggregation of several data leaks over a long period – since the start of the year. This is a reflection of a thriving cybercrime economy that has industrialised credential theft. Credentials are harvested, enriched, and resold — often multiple times — via combo lists that are constantly updated and even made available on public platforms. What’s notable here is that the datasets were reportedly temporarily exposed via unsecured channels, making them accessible to anyone who stumbled upon them.”
Anna Larkina, Web Content Analysis Expert at Kaspersky, advises users to take urgent action and said, “This news is a good reminder to focus on digital hygiene. Regularly update your passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and use a reliable password manager, such as Kaspersky Password Manager, to store your credentials securely. If you suspect your accounts may have been compromised, contact support services immediately to regain access and limit further damage. Users should also stay alert to social engineering scams that exploit leaked data.”
Adding to the expert views, Peter Mackenzie, Director of Incident Response and Readiness at Sophos, said, “While you’d be right to be startled at the huge volume of data exposed in this leak, it’s important to note there is no new threat here — this data will most likely already have been in circulation. These datasets are amalgamated from multiple breaches. What this tells us is the sheer depth of information now available to cybercriminals. It’s a powerful reminder to everyone to take proactive steps — update passwords, use a password manager, and implement multifactor authentication. If concerned, check your email at https://haveibeenpwned.com to see if your data has been compromised.”