16 Billion Passwords From Major-Tech Accounts Exposed

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More than 16 billion stolen online account login credentials between 2017 and 2019, including       google password  leak for accounts with Apple, Facebook, and Google, were reportedly exposed in what’s already being called the largest data breach on record. 

 

The revelation comes after a previous report said 184 million records had been compromised. The incident, which involves info-stealing malware from various sources, has added new data sets rarely seen as part of a breach, suggesting a significant cyber threat that merits immediate public scrutiny.

Analysts probing the leak, which has persisted since early 2025, identified some 30 large caches of data — each containing tens of millions to more than 3.5 billion records. Together, the data sets add up to an enormous database of exposed usernames and passwords that could affect social media accounts, VPNs, dev tools, government services, and more.

Most affected data is described in the form of URLs accompanied by usernames and passwords. This is not all recycled data but fresh, harmful information that may be used for phishing, account takeovers, and mass exploitation, researchers said. Both the size and the freshness of this google passward  leak make it one of the most menacing leaks in the digital era.

Serious Risks’ if Changes Are Not Made Quickly, Experts Say
As security professionals have been quick to tell us, this leak is much more than a data spill —it provides a step-by-step template for cyberattacks. They describe the breach as an opportune pool of ‘weaponizable intelligence at scale’ readily exploitable by cyber-criminals. These are not credentials to obscure services that could be exploited to dump secrets, but rather credentials to well-known services that can be and are used by attackers to access personal and organizational data.

Some are the result of intentional hacking, but according to cybersecurity experts, a lot of credentials are also being exposed in the open thanks to misconfigured cloud storage. With more sensitive data potentially left exposed in cloud services, the worst may be yet to come, experts say.

Strong Password Habits Are More Important Than Ever
'We put all of the data in the public domain to give our users confidence and to reassure them that all of their information is secure,' he said. 'We have put the information on]Easy to access: Keeper CEO and co-founder Darren Guccione pointed out that the leaked data suggests a 'new low' in unsecured databases. The database stayed online for over a month and up until earlier this week - well after the researchers were first alerted.

He added that people should rely on password manager services and dark web monitoring services to be vigilant in the event of any data exposure.
Enterprises are also being encouraged to embrace zero trust security measures to impose stringent access controls, log login activity and further restrict access to critical data no matter where it resides.

Javvad Malik, a security awareness advocate, emphasized the responsibility everyone has in serving to defend cyber security. He urged people to use strong, unique passwords and implement multi-factor authentications. The best thing you can do now is to change existing passwords, refrain from reusing passwords, and think carefully about moving to put passkeys in for better security.

As digital dangers multiply, this leak is a harsh lesson in this: You must protect your data — it’s not optional, it’s a necessity.