When it takes you to read this article, hundreds of thousands of people have used their password to log into a website, like your bank site or social media platform. But what happens if that data were stolen?
The case
Security experts stumbled across a database containing 711 million email addresses, usernames, and passwords by accident discovered on a server in the Netherlands, feeding information to a “robot” called Onliner. The robot has carried out 100,000 spam attacks, large and small, worldwide. If anyone wants to check if their email address is affected, they can do so at www.haveibeenpwned.com.
Did you know?
These passwords were found after Google ran a massive password database for three years and was about to delete it. While there are many ways to protect your personal information, you must always be careful when using the same password across different platforms.
Conclusion
Have you ever used an account that’s been hacked? Did you think your email address was safe because it wasn’t in the phishing data dump? Using the link above, you might want to check if your email address is on this list, as it could be compromised.