Gmail users have been warned to check their accounts after a massive data breach exposed more than 183 million passwords.
Australian cyber expert Troy Hunt uncovered the breach, describing it as a “vast corpus” of stolen data amounting to 3.5 terabytes — the equivalent of about 875 full-length HD movies.
According to Hunt, the stolen data doesn’t only affect Gmail users but also includes accounts from Outlook, Yahoo, and other major providers.
“They’re from everywhere you could imagine, but Gmail always features heavily,” Hunt told the Daily Mail.
The breach, which occurred in April, was only recently disclosed on Hunt’s website Have I Been Pwned (HIBP). The data reportedly contains 183 million unique email addresses, the websites they were used on, and the passwords associated with them.
Hunt clarified that this was not a single cyberattack but a compilation of ‘stealer logs’ — data files collected by malicious software that continuously leaks personal information.
“Stealer logs are like a firehose of data constantly spewing personal info all over the place,” Hunt explained.
He warned that once stolen, data often spreads repeatedly across multiple online platforms.
Users are advised to visit Have I Been Pwned, enter their email address, and click ‘Check’ to see if their information has been compromised.
