16 billion logins were reportedly compromised in a massive data breach
The stolen logins were from Google, Apple, Facebook, and more.
As many aspects of our lives, including bank details, work logins, and private chats, now exist online, a single cybersecurity breach can lead to significant real-world chaos. And that’s exactly what researchers are warning about after uncovering what might be one of the biggest breaches ever recorded.
Cybernews reports that a massive dump of stolen data, 16 billion records in total, has surfaced online. That number isn’t a typo. This breach, which is spread across 30 different datasets, includes fresh, never-before-seen login details from platforms such as Apple, Facebook, Google, Telegram, GitHub, and even government sites; each dataset contains anywhere from tens of millions to 3.5 billion credentials.
What makes this particularly alarming isn’t just the size; it’s the quality. Unlike recycled data from past leaks, most of the information here is newly harvested, highly usable, and prime material for cybercriminals. Cybernews is calling it a “blueprint for mass exploitation.” Think identity theft, ransomware, business email compromise, or highly targeted phishing campaigns; this breach could open the door to all of it.
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So, how did this happen? Through infostealer malware, silent Trojans sneak onto your device through shady downloads, phishing emails, or pirated software, as per reports. Once in, they scoop up everything: your passwords, session tokens, browsing data, cookies, and even autofill info. These logs are then sold on the dark web for as little as $2 per batch.
It's no surprise, then, that agencies like the FBI are urging people not to click links in texts, and companies like Google are pushing users toward passkeys, a more secure alternative to passwords. The stakes are high; once your password is compromised, it’s not just one account at risk. It can be your entire digital life.
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According to Vilius Petkauskas, one of the Cybernews researchers tracking this breach since early 2025, only one dataset in this massive leak, containing 184 million records, had been previously reported. The rest are all new. Three separate batches even exceeded a billion credentials each. While it doesn’t yet surpass the 26 billion record breach of 2024, researchers say this new dump could be even more damaging due to how fresh and exploitable the data is.
There’s still no final tally, and with logs coming from multiple sources, tracing the original victims could take months, if it's even possible at all. But one thing’s certain: this is massive, and it affects users on some of the biggest platforms in the world.
