“This is the largest data breach ever seen on the Internet” … Nearly 3.2 billion emails and passwords were compromised.

It is possibly the “largest pirated user credential collection ever released on the Internet”. Last week, the specialist website BGR announced that a “batch of user data” had been posted by a cybercriminal on a hacker forum.

The file, dubbed “an accumulation of breaches,” revealed access to 3.28 billion combinations of email and account passwords that were compromised in recent IT attacks against web giants, says the specialist website Cybernews.

What really happened?

A huge database of more than 3 billion username and password links appeared on Tuesday, February 2 in an online forum used by hackers. The author of this database says that he compiled the various data that was stolen during the hacks on LinkedIn and Netflix together … “So this was not the result of a new hack, but rather merging the existing data that had already been stolen into part of the previous leaks,” he says. Cybersecurity experts.

In this file called Comb, the information is carefully categorized in alphabetical order and by service used. Among the stolen data, the credentials of 117 million LinkedIn accounts were leaked in 2021 and access to Netflix. But also information about Gmail, Hotmail, and many other accounts … If your information is collected, hackers can access your email groups and passwords and use them to hack your other accounts.

How do you know if your data has been disclosed?

CyberNews has created a search engine that lists the leaked identifiers. You just need to type in your email address to see if your data has been compromised. If your email is affected, it is recommended that you quickly change your password. CNIL (National Commission on Informatics and Freedoms) recommends choosing passwords of at least 12 characters consisting of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and special characters.

It is also recommended to set up dual access on email accounts to ensure their security. “Second authentication limits the use of extortionate access codes. In general, it depends on a combination of your fingerprints, face, voice, etc., what you know (password, PIN code, etc.) and / or what you have (chip card, token, smartphone You might have already set it up on your smartphone with PIN-based authentication and biometric recognition, explains Blandin Delaporte, the electronic missionary at Check Point Software Technologies.