Hacker Collects Over 272 Million Email Addresses and Passwords

A Russian hacker collects over 272 million email addresses and passwords that he has been collecting over a period of time. As the unnamed hacker collected so many email addresses and passwords, security firm Hold Security, managed to obtain the database. The extent of the data which was collected included email addresses from Yahoo, Gmail and the most popular Russian provider, mail.ru.

The Hacker Collects Over 272 Million Email Addresses and Passwords from small, unsecured websites where people sign up using their email addresses. Even though this breach isn’t as particularly alarming as some of the previous data breaches that have occurred lately, it can still be a concern to those who use the same passwords for everything. If someone used the same password for multiple accounts, it might be possible for the hacker, who has access to one website’s password, to apply it to other websites as well.

The best way to protect yourself from these kind of attacks is to make sure you don’t use the same password for all of your accounts. This includes email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other website. A password manager can be a great tool in remembering and safely securing all your accounts if you find remembering multiple passwords tricky. Another method is to change your password every so often, every three months for example, this way if any username/email/password breaches occur, you have more chance of being safe if you change your password.

It is not known exactly how the hacker, a young Russian, was able to obtain these details but Hold Security states there is not a way to check to see if you have been a victim of this particular attack. Back in 2014, when the company managed to obtain almost a billion login credentials, they tried to setup an online service for people to check, but unfortunately the website crashed.

Another way of staying safe online is by using a VPN service. By signing up to Le VPN you will be able to browse the web safely and anonymously, preventing any potential hackers or snoopers on your activity. Sign up to Le VPN today and enjoy the freedom of the internet on any device you use.