Massive data breach exposes 16 billion logins, including Apple accounts

Experts warn that the exposure of fresh, large-scale login datasets significantly increases the risk of phishing, identity theft, account hijackings, and email scams, providing cybercriminals with a powerful toolkit to launch widespread targeted attacks

A staggering new data breach has come to light, with cybersecurity researchers revealing the discovery of more than 16 billion stolen login credentials—making it potentially the largest breach of its kind to date. The leaked information spans widely-used platforms, including Apple, Facebook, Google, GitHub, Telegram, and even some government services.

The scale of the breach was uncovered through multiple unsecured online databases found throughout 2025. Researchers reported uncovering at least 30 separate datasets, some containing as many as 3.5 billion records. Unlike recycled breach data often seen in the past, experts say this information appears to be recent, structured, and immediately usable for cybercriminal activities.

What began with a single unprotected database of 184 million records—first reported in May—has now escalated into a far-reaching security incident. The new data troves were found stored on misconfigured Elasticsearch servers and cloud-based storage systems, accessible to anyone with a browser and basic technical skills.

Fresh, organized data fuels threats

Researchers described the nature of the breach as highly organized, with full sets of usernames, passwords, and URLs neatly indexed. Some of the data even carried file names suggesting geographic or platform-specific origins. One set, with over 455 million records, appeared to be linked to the Russian Federation, while another with 60 million entries referenced Telegram.

Experts warn that the exposure of such a massive and fresh batch of login credentials creates a serious risk of phishing attacks, account hijackings, identity theft, and corporate email scams. The datasets offer malicious actors a powerful toolkit for launching widespread cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity professionals urge individuals and businesses to act quickly—changing passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and staying alert to suspicious account activity.

This latest breach underscores the pressing need for better data protection standards and more vigilant cloud security practices, as the digital world continues to face escalating threats on a global scale. Investigations into the source and scope of the breach are still ongoing.

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