Snapchat, LinkedIn, More Hit By The ‘Mother Of All Breaches’

It may be time to change your passwords. According to multiple reports, the largest data breaches could compromise 26 billion records. They’re calling it the "Mother of All Breaches." The massive data leak revealed records from sites like LinkedIn, Snapchat, Venmo, Adobe, and X, formerly Twitter.

According to the data researchers from CyberNews, the compromised data includes more than just login credentials. They reported that much of it is "sensitive," "making it valuable for malicious actors."

"The dataset is extremely dangerous as threat actors could leverage the aggregated data for a wide range of attacks, including identity theft, sophisticated phishing schemes, targeted cyberattacks, and unauthorized access to personal and sensitive accounts," the researchers, comprised of cybersecurity expert Bob Dyachenko and the team at Cybernews.

Cybernews has compiled a searchable list online where users can look up potentially compromised sites. Users can also look up email addresses and phone numbers. You can use the Cybernews’ personal data leak checker.

"Victims need to be aware of the consequences of stolen passwords and make the necessary security updates in response," Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, told Forbes. He added, "This includes changing their passwords, being alert to phishing emails following the breach, and ensuring all accounts, whether affected or not, are equipped with two-factor authentication."

Many people use the same passwords across multiple platforms. This could lead to a user having multiple accounts compromised. If you’re thinking about changing your password, it’s best to avoid slightly changing your current password. According to Keeper Security, cybercriminals will also try different variations of verified credentials. They suggest having unique, random passwords, that are different for each account.

Interestingly, research shows that one-third of non-identical passwords are sub-variations of each other, and bots could crack thirty percent of these almost-identical passwords in less than 100 attempts. They can even attempt dozens of passwords a second.

You might think your favorite password is really easy to remember. But if it's too easy, chances are it's not very secure. Mobile security firm Lookout recently published a tally of the 20 most commonly found passwords in leaked account information on the dark web. As you would expect, many of the passwords are a variation of "12345," while others are as simple as "Iloveyou." With passwords like that, you're putting yourself at risk to get hacked.

We get it: you want a password that is easy to recall. According to NordPass, the average person has more than 100 different online accounts that utilize passwords. It's hard to remember all of those. But, make sure those passwords aren't too easy to hack.

One idea is keeping an old-fashioned notebook - yeah, that thing with paper wound into a binder - with all of your passwords in a secure place. And, switch up the characters, using numbers, letters and symbols.

The list is via mobile security firm Lookout.

This is literally the easiest password ever. Do people really use this?

Taking the easiest password and adding a few more digits..as if that makes it any more difficult to figure out!

This one caught me by surprise. Why is this such a popular password choice?

You have to be kidding me.

Another super easy one.

Notice how so many of these are just variations of 12345?

I can't imagine anyone using this as their password, but it's apparently very popular.

Another variation of 12345.

At least this one switches up the number order a little. But still!

Now we're getting complicated. Not, really.

This actually doesn't look like a super easy password to me, but it's obviously based off the keyboard, so I can see why it's easy to crack.

One more based on 12345.

LOL.

You cannot be serious. Don't most password systems prevent a password like this, anyway?

Are we in grade school?

Descending.

Another super easy one.

Probably the most complicated on on here.

Very sweet- but not a good password.

All you kids who think it's cool to use "666" for anything won't think it's too cool when you get hacked!