Cyber experts have issued an urgent warning for people to update their passwords after a hacker uploaded billions of login details. The leak — called RockYou2024 — was posted on July 4th containing a staggering 10 billion passwords from a compilation of old and new data breaches. Researchers who revealed the leak said the information could allow hackers to target any system that isn’t protected by strict security software, including online and offline services, online cameras, and industrial hardware. This could prompt a wave of data breaches, financial fraud, and identity theft using the passwords, which were collected from more than 4,000 databases over two decades. As a preventative measure, users should immediately reset their leaked passwords on all accounts and select strong, unique combinations that aren’t used on multiple platforms. They should also enable multifactor authentication, which provides a second level of security by requiring verification like facial recognition or a PIN in addition to the password.
