A hacker, who goes by the name “ObamaCare”, has reportedly leaked 995 crore passwords, according to a report from Forbes. The information was released under a dataset named Rockyou2024, the report suggested.
If the researchers are to be believed, it is by far the biggest password data breach in history. “In its essence, the RockYou2024 leak is a compilation of real-world passwords used by individuals all over 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 unauthorized access to various online accounts used by individuals who employ passwords included in the dataset,” they added.
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Old Data Was Used To Pull Off The Data Breach
The researchers also suggested that the passwords were leaked with the help of a mix of old and new data breaches. “Moreover, combined with other leaked databases on hacker forums and marketplaces, which, for example, contain user email addresses and other credentials, RockYou2024 can contribute to a cascade of data breaches, financial frauds, and identity thefts,” the team said.
But this isn’t the first time Rockyou2024 has pulled off such a breach. Earlier, hackers leaked around 8.4 billion plain text passwords, the report suggested. People are recommended 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.
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Snowblind Malware Can Steal Your Bank Details From Android
The advent of mobile banking has made our lives easy, bringing convenience to our fingerprints, but it also has its caveats. Mobile banking brings along several security concerns. Now, a new malware dubbed ‘Snowblind’ is targeting Android users and stealing banking credentials.
It is malware that targets Android devices to steal banking information. Discovered by cybersecurity firm Promon, this malware can steal a person’s banking login details and perform unauthorized transactions.
People usually fall prey to this virus by downloading a malicious app that seems legitimate. The malware repackages an app to avoid detection and misuses accessibility features to steal sensitive information and control the app remotely, said Vidar Krey, VP of engineering at Promon.