Over the last few years, we have alerted you to different security flaws that have affected different companies. One of the most recent was the security breach of Google+, which ultimately led the company to announce the accelerated closure of the social network. Although 2019 has just begun, we already have proof of the first great data filtration of the year, one of the largest in recent times.
The leak has been made public by Troy Hunt, a respected cybersecurity researcher and known to be behind “Have I been Pwned“, a website that allows users to check if their personal data has been leaked on the Internet. In the last few hours, Troy Hunt has reported the leak of 773 million unique email addresses and 21 million unique passwords, a leak that is now known as Collection #1.
As stated by Hunt himself, during the last week he received multiple warnings from Internet users letting him know of the existence of a database with more than 12,000 files and 2,700 million records stored in MEGA. Apparently, the files had disappeared from that platform, but they were still available in a known hacking forum. The database we are talking about has a weight of 87GB, which allows us to get an idea of its magnitude. In particular, the emails and passwords would have been compiled as a result of different computer attacks made over the past years.
And now the important thing, how can we know if we are affected by the leak? Since Troy Hunt has already integrated the database on the “Have I been Pwned” website, all we have to do is access the website and enter the email addresses that we use regularly. In case we have been affected, we will see the following notice appear. As always, we strongly recommend changing your password in case your data is found in the filtration, as well as start using a password manager to improve your security on the Internet.
