Cybernews security researchers claim to find the RockYou2024 database on BreachForums, which has 9,948,575,739 unique passwords in an unencrypted format, an incredible number. Forbes claims that information from the previous RockYou2021 database, which had 8.4 billion passwords, is included in this collection. With the latest update, it now has almost 1.5 billion more passwords that were gathered over the course of at least two decades from many data breaches.

The Greatest Password Leak Ever

This big leak was caused by a hacker going by the handle "ObamaCare," who uploaded the database to the criminal forum. According to analysts, the RockYou2024 breach is essentially a collection of actual passwords that people use on a global scale, as per the report. This over 10 billion password dump highlights the scope of data breaches and the number of credentials that fraudsters are increasingly using.

A Higher Chance of Attacks Using Credential Stuffing

Credential stuffing assaults continue to be one of the most popular and effective strategies used by both state-sponsored and criminal hackers. In these attacks, the attackers utilize stolen login credentials to enter accounts without authorization. Since the release of RockYou2024, there is a much higher chance of these kinds of attacks. These credentials may be used by hackers to attack a wide range of online services, such as email services, social media accounts, internet-facing webcams, and even industrial devices.

The researchers found that the RockYou2024 breach "substantially heightens the risk of credential stuffing attacks," giving hackers access to a sizable database of actual passwords, according to the story. This might have a major impact on millions of people globally and present a serious danger to internet security.

The research emphasizes how RockYou2024 may set off a chain reaction of identity theft, financial fraud, and data breaches. The impact on internet security increases when one considers additional compromised datasets that are sold on dark web marketplaces and hacker forums. The researchers cautioned that there is a huge possibility for criminality as a result of this leak, concluding that "RockYou2024 can contribute to a cascade of data breaches."