149 Million Usernames and Passwords Exposed by Unsecured Database Threatens Security

New York: A massive leak has exposed 149 million usernames and passwords online. This includes 48 million accounts for Gmail and 17 million for Facebook. It was found by a security researcher named Jeremiah Fowler. He saw that the database was not secured and let the hosting service know. They took it down because it broke their rules.

Fowler could not find out who owned the database. He noticed it had many usernames for banks, credit cards, and even government systems from different countries. He thinks this data was collected by malware, a harmful program that steals personal information. It can track everything victims type and collect it.

While Fowler was trying to report the issue, the database kept getting bigger. It had usernames for many services, including 900,000 Apple iCloud accounts and millions for Netflix. The information was easy to find just using a web browser.

“This is like a dream wish list for criminals,” Fowler said. He noticed that every login had a unique identifier, which helped organize the information. This means it could be used by cybercriminals looking for specific data for their scams.

The issue of unsecured databases is growing, and cybercriminals are finding easier ways to steal data. “Infostealers create a low barrier for new criminals,” said Allan Liska, a security analyst. For a small amount of money, criminals can easily get access to many usernames and passwords each month.