Main Hack Nabs 184m Passwords for Google, Apple and More: ‘Cybercriminal Dreamndra

More than 184 million passwords may have been exposed in a massive data violation that experts are calling a “Cybercrimeal dream”.

According to a new report from online security researcher Jeremiah Fowler, the flow affected everything from Apple and Google users and passwords and social media entrances to bank accounts.

The database containing the compromised passwords was irritated irony and was not protected by the password itself, the report said.

Publicly accessible data base contained 184,162,718 unique entries and passwords reported with e -mail providers such as Google and a range of Microsoft products, as well as social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, ZDNET reported.

Fowler shared that information from bank accounts, health services and government portals were also unprotected.

The database can be compiled through the Malware Infostealer, a type of “malicious software specially designed to harvest sensitive information from an infected system”, according to Fowler. This means that sensitive information was directly stolen from users.

This type of malware can steal the user data stored in web browsers, including data and autofill cookies, data stored in the email app data.

It is unclear exactly how the data may have been compromised, but a Snapchat representative told Mashable that they have not found any vulnerability or evidence of a violation on its platform.

After finding the unprotected database, Fowler contacted the reception provider, who removed it from the public access. However, since the provider would not share the owner of the file, he said he is not sure if it was created with a legitimate and accidentally exposed purpose, or if it was used maliciously.

To confirm the authenticity of the leaked data, Fowler sent numerous e -mail messages listed to the database to confirm that the records had accurate, valuable passwords and information.

“Many people unconsciously treat their e -mail accounts such as the free storage of clouds and maintain sensitive documents worth years, such as tax forms, medical records, contracts and passwords no matter how sensitive they are.

“From an online security point of view, I recommend a lot of knowing what sensitive information is stored in your email account and by regularly erating old, sensitive mail -containing mail, financial documents or any other important files,” he further advised. “If sensitive files are to be separated, I recommend using a coded cloud storage solution instead of an email.”