One of the largest data breaches in history has exposed billions of accounts worldwide to potential cybercrime, sparking widespread concern. Dubbed the Mother of All Breaches, this massive data spill revealed 26 billion records from popular sites like LinkedIn, Adobe, X and Venmo.
Cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarm about the severity of this leak because the compromised data includes sensitive information that criminals could use to steal identities and launch phishing attacks.
Discovery of the breach
The cybersecurity research publication Cybernews discovered the unintentional information disclosure on an unsecured website. While the breach is significant, the data appears to be primarily a compilation of previously stolen information. However, some experts believe it also contains new information.
Size of the breach
This breach dwarfs previous incidents in scale. The largest data leak before this one involved 3.2 billion records, making this breach over eight times larger. The following are a few examples of websites and the number of records involved:
- X – 281 million
- LinkedIn – 251 million
- Adobe -153 million
- Canva – 143 million
- Dropbox – 69 million
The list includes many other websites, including MySpace, AdultFriendFinder and the China-based TenCent. Government agencies in several countries also had their information compromised.
Protection of your information
Cybernews has created a data leak checker of potentially compromised accounts, allowing users to check whether their emails and telephone numbers are at risk. Experts advise everyone to use strong, unique passwords for each account, avoid reusing passwords and enable two-factor authentication.
If you have an account on one of these sites or believe someone has stolen your personal information, contact our law firm immediately. We offer free consultations to discuss how you can protect yourself in the aftermath of this unprecedented cybercrime incident.