Copyright republicworld
New Delhi: A massive Gmail data breach has rocked the cybersecurity world, exposing 183 million Gmail passwords and leaving millions of users vulnerable to hacking. The staggering breach, described as a ‘vast corpus’ of stolen data, has prompted experts to urge Gmail users to take immediate action to protect their accounts.Australian cyber expert Troy Hunt, who revealed the incident, said the breach is one of the largest he's ever seen, with 3.5 terabytes of data stolen, which is equivalent to 875 full-length HD movies. According to Hunt, the breach isn't limited to Gmail, with email addresses and passwords from Outlook, Yahoo, and other providers also compromised."We're talking about a massive collection of stolen data, with email addresses and passwords from all corners of the internet," Troy Hunt stated in his media address, adding that Gmail always features heavily in these breaches, but only Gmail users are not at risk.As per reports, the breach, which occurred in April but has only just been disclosed, contains 183 million unique email addresses, along with the websites they were used to register and the corresponding passwords. Hunt's Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) website allows users to check if their email data has been compromised."If you're one of the 183 million people affected, you need to change your email password immediately and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) if you haven't already," Hunt advised. "This isn't just about protecting your email account - it's about protecting all the accounts that use the same password," he further addedThe breach is believed to be the work of malware, with ‘stealer logs’, data files generated by malicious software, responsible for the massive data theft. "Stealer logs are like a firehose of data, constantly spewing personal info all over the internet," Hunt explained.The cybersecurity experts are urging users to take immediate action to protect themselves. "Always use different passwords for different online accounts," Graham Cluley, a computer expert and security blogger, told the Daily Mail. He also stated, "Use a password manager to keep track of your passwords, and enable multi-factor authentication whenever possible."Benjamin Brundage, who discovered the breach, stressed that users should not assume they are safe just because they use strong passwords. "A strong password is just the first line of defence….You need to be vigilant and take steps to protect yourself," he said.The cybersecurity experts have recommended a few precautions for the common people to ensure that such a data breach doesn't compromise their email data. These precautions include: A Google spokesperson said the company is aware of the breach and is taking steps to protect users. "We protect users from these attacks with layers of defences, including resetting passwords when we come across credential theft like this," the spokesperson said. The Google spokesperson also added, "We encourage users to boost their own defences by turning on 2-step verification and adopting passkeys as a simpler and stronger alternative to passwords."Further development regarding the massive Gmail data breach is awaited.
