Russian Hacker steals 273 million passwords: was yours Exposed -
Have you changed your email account password recently? Whether your password last change-up arrived there yesterday or six months, it's time to change them all as soon as possible. Just in time for World Password Day, a treasure of 273 million passwords and usernames for email accounts stolen by a Russian hacker known as "The Collector" was reported by Reuters. This collection of stolen credentials was discovered when researchers from security firm Hold Security came through the messages of The Collector brag about it on various underground cybercrime forums. Although the vast majority of 273 million passwords were popular service accounts of Russian mail Mail.ru, many Yahoo, Gmail and Microsoft Hotmail accounts were also part of this massive database. Keep reading to find out what you need to know about this data breach and how it might affect you.
Should I be concerned about my email password?
Initially, Hold Security researchers say that the Russian hacker was advertising that he had a collection of 1.17 billion records that he was willing to give. He demanded only 50 rubles (less than $ 1) in exchange for the information, but ended up giving all the more hidden researchers after they promised to post positive comments about it on underground forums. After eliminating duplicate accounts 1,170,000,000 records, it was determined that 273 million unique email accounts were represented. This included 57 million Mail.ru accounts 40 million Yahoo accounts 33 million Microsoft Hotmail accounts 24 million Gmail accounts and several hundred thousands of German and Chinese email accounts. If you have an email account with one or more of these email providers, it is definitely worth your concern.
How this information could be used by cybercriminals?
The databases such as this are useful for those wanting to commit other hacks, scams or phishing attacks. If a criminal gains access to the email address you use with different online accounts they can use to reset your password to these accounts, the opening of all of your online presence to compromises. Access to your email account also means access to your contact list, which can be used to perpetrate phishing attacks. In addition, criminals are well aware that most people reuse passwords. Even if the password is obsolete for the account is associated with, they can try to use it on other accounts a person has to try to gain access. Cloud Security Alliance Recent research indicates that 22% of data breaches reported by 325 companies they surveyed were committed using the stolen account credentials - credentials, as these 273 million passwords mail, an indication of why this kind of database is of great value for cybercriminals.
What can I do to protect myself?
Although you should be changing your passwords every six months or less anyway, you should change your account password immediately mail . For tips on creating a strong, unique password, see this blog. Make sure that every password you use for each different account you have is unique. If you're used passwords reusing due to an inability to remember them all, you can enjoy a password manager like LastPass to save your passwords in an encrypted master password secured.
That said, a strong password is, unfortunately, not enough - allow two verification steps for any account that you offer it to raise the level of protect your account. Even if an attacker gaining your password, with two-step verification, unless he or she can access your text messages, your account can not be divided into. Forbes provided information on how to enable two-step verification on Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail email accounts in this article. Some email providers getting their game by introducing password without security features, which could help curb the impact of data breaches logins like this.
Learn more about protecting your personal safety online and off by following our blog identity protection against theft. You want to strengthen security on your smartphone, computer and other devices? Read our Internet security software reviews to find out which is the best choice for you.
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