- The recent record violation of 16 billion may not be as bad as it may seem
- Data sets most likely contain information disclosed previously
- Nevertheless, the people concerned could always be in danger, so be on your guard
Following recent reports of more than 16 billion files disclosed in an “unimaginable” data violation, additional research said that the reality of the incident may not be as disastrous as the first thought.
After significant speculation about the effects and origins of the violation, the new results of Bleeping Compompute suggest that this “violation” may not be new, or even a breach – but rather a compilation of existing disclosed references.
The initial data sets discovered by the researchers included hordes of personal information, each of the 30 data sets containing between tens of millions, to more than 3.5 billion data points – totaling 16 billion records. It now seems likely that it was a series of data sets simply containing raped references assembled by a cybersecurity company (or by criminals) which was then exposed online.
Infostolers to blame
“Despite the buzz, there is no evidence that this compilation contains new data or previously invisible”, ” Bleeping Compompute confirmed.
Information in these data sets has probably been circulating for some time, and the provision of violated information suggests that it has been collected using infostelars – a type of malware which has become one of the most prolific threats to security teams and Internet users.
The information found in these data sets is formatted in order to firmly point the finger in infostellers, identification information appearing in a single line format (URL: Username: Password) All compiled in a single “Journal”.
An infostealer attack can exfiltrate all the identification information stored on a browser, and the newspapers are then downloaded and generally sold on the Dark web.
Criminals will often download samples from their stolen data as a “advantage” to prove that the information is legitimate.
Since these violations can sometimes contain billions of recordings, these samples frequently contain tens of thousands of identification – and this data violation is probably a compilation of these tastings.
What to do then
New or not, disclosed references are a huge threat to affected people. If your information has been disclosed, be sure to take a look at certain identity flight protection software, as criminals can use your name, address and details to contract credit cards or loans to your name.
Haribeenpwned? is probably the best resource only to verify whether your contact details have been assigned, offering a dilapidated each large cyber-incident of recent years.
As a business, allow multi-factory authentication (MFA) and ensure that all staff are entirely trained in the dangers and signs of social engineering attacks is the key. The use of commercial password managers can also ensure that all user passwords are secure.
And if you save passwords on a Google account, you can use Google’s password verification tool to see if it has been compromised or register for one of the best password management options that we have gathered to make sure that your connections are protected.
“If this news scares you, your security program probably has fundamental shortcomings,” said James Shank, director of threat operations at Exvice.
“Let it be the fuel you need to position yourself and your department to solve the problem systematically, rather than defending against the news of the day. There will always be another violation, with even more passwords and that emergency manipulation will continue if you do not have systematic defenses in place.”
