Staggering Data Leak Exposes 16 Billion Passwords: Is Your Online Life at Risk?

Security experts urge quick action after discovery of massive credential dump linked to years of cyber theft

Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D. 6/20/2025

Marco Verch [CC BY 2.0]

NEW YORK — In a discovery that has sent shockwaves through the cybersecurity community, researchers from Cybernews have uncovered a massive cache of compromised login credentials. An estimated 16 billion usernames and passwords were found to be circulating on the dark web.

This data leak, described as “unprecedented” by the investigative team, was not the result of a single catastrophic breach. Instead, it’s the culmination of multiple data thefts over several years. The stolen credentials, which include sensitive logins for major platforms like Google, Facebook, and Apple, were pieced together from numerous breaches and bundled into 30 separate datasets. These were briefly exposed online before Cybernews researchers intercepted them.

Click here to read full article