16 Billion Passwords Leaked in Historic Breach, Threatening Major Platforms

A series of newly uncovered datasets has revealed what experts are calling the largest data breach in history, involving an estimated 16 billion exposed login credentials. The breach, discovered by the Cybernews research team and independent cybersecurity expert Bob Diachenko, is believed to be sourced from various infostealer malware strains that harvested sensitive information from compromised systems.

🔍 Key Highlights:

16 billion credentials leaked — the largest breach ever recorded.

Data is spread across 30 databases, with some overlapping entries.

The breach includes fresh data, not just recycled records from older leaks.

Sources point to widespread infection from infostealer malware.

Exposed data spans social media, corporate tools, VPNs, developer platforms, and more.

🛑 Impact & Risks:

With credentials tied to services like Facebook, Google, Apple, and countless others, this breach gives cybercriminals unprecedented access to user accounts. The stolen data poses risks such as:

Account takeovers

Identity theft

Targeted phishing campaigns

Cybernews has confirmed the authenticity of the leak through multiple screenshots and firsthand analysis. This breach dwarfs many previously reported incidents — including a May report by Wired on a 184 million-record leak, which now barely makes the top 20 among the datasets uncovered.

🔄 The situation is ongoing, with Cybernews continuing to monitor and update findings as new datasets emerge — sometimes every few weeks — underscoring the alarming spread of infostealers across the internet.