A group of Cybernews researchers, led by Vilius Petkauskas, has revealed a filtration of 16 billion access credentials obtained by Malwares Infostealer. The investigation, initiated in early 2025, identified 30 exposed databases, with records ranging from millions to 3.5 billion each, covering services such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Github, Telegram and government portals.
This finding, too reported by Forbesis described as one of the largest data gaps in history, and puts millions of users and organizations at risk.
Data, structured as URLs accompanied by usernames and passwords in flat textthey reflect the modus operandi of the Infostealersmalicious programs designed to collect sensitive information from infected devices.
The filtration scale facilitates attacks such as Accounts theft, Phishing Directed and identity fraud. Although researchers could not determine the exact number of affected people due to possible duplications, the potential impact is immense, considering that 5.5 billion people have access to the Internet.
The lack of clarity about the owners of these databases, which were briefly accessible on the Internet before being blocked, aggravates the situation.
Cybernews warns That new similar databases emerge every few weeks, pointing out the prevalence of this type of malware. Cybersecurity magazine also highlights that organizations must reinforce cloud security and adopt zero trust models to mitigate risks, and that Users face the uncertainty of not knowing if their data were committed.
To protect themselves, event researchers say, users must prioritize unique and robust passwords and change them frequently.
Multifactor authentication activation and updated antivirus use can be used to detect and eliminate infostealers.
Regularly review the systems in search of malware and avoid reusing credentials on multiple platforms are critical measures Faced with leaks of this magnitude.
