16 billion passwords leaked in the largest breach in history: Apple, Google, and Facebook among those affected

A group of cybersecurity experts has uncovered what could be the largest credential theft ever recorded . Cybernews has located more than 30 data sets exposed online, totaling more than 16 billion records containing usernames, passwords, cookies , tokens , and other sensitive information from millions of digital accounts.

This mega-leak doesn't just affect a specific company or service. It's a massive collection of data from multiple previous breaches , now gathered in a single, unprotected, public database. Those affected include users of Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, PayPal, Telegram, Microsoft, Roblox, and dozens of other services , including government platforms.

What has been leaked and why is it so serious?

This leak exposed more than 16 billion active username and password combinations, collected across a series of previously unseen databases.

Some of them contain more than 3.5 billion records and the average is around 550 million per file .

What's most alarming is that this isn't old or recycled data: Researchers say many of these credentials have been recently obtained using infostealer malware , a threat that infects devices to steal passwords, cookies, session tokens, and metadata without the user's knowledge.

This makes the breach a real and present threat, much more dangerous than previous breaches, as the data is active and ready to be used in automated attacks.

A total of 26 unique databases have been identified , which combined make up the largest collection of leaked data ever seen.

What risks does it pose for users?

This leak is particularly dangerous because it gathers information useful for automated attacks, such as credential stuffing, which involves testing username and password combinations across different services.

The most immediate dangers include :

Cybernews warns that even if some of the credentials are old, many users continue to reuse passwords, making it easier to access their current accounts.

Who's behind it?

The exact origin of this collection is currently unknown . The database was found on a publicly accessible server, with no password or encryption.

The Cybernews team has not been able to determine "with certainty" who owns the dataset. "While it could be security researchers collecting data to verify and monitor leaks, it's virtually certain that some of the leaked datasets belonged to cybercriminals ," it explains.

The portal notes that " there is no definitive way to accurately estimate how many people were affected ."