On one of the popular hacker forums, a 100 GB TXT file has appeared, which contains 8.4 billion passwords. This is the largest leak in the entire history of the Internet, and all data is presumably combined with data from previous leaks. According to a user with the nickname RockYou2021, 82 billion passwords were collected in the file, but after analysis by CyberNews specialists, it turned out that there are 8,459,060,239 unique entries, each of which is a unique password from 6 to 20 characters long, including complex combinations.
Sample passwords from RockYou2021 file
The file has the same name as the author of the post, and this may be a reference to the RockYou leak that happened in 2009. Then the attackers hacked the servers of the social application site and gained access to the data of more than 32 million users, which is 262 times less than in the current collection. Experts believe that the person who posted it collected all these passwords over several years. Given the fact that there are 4.7 billion active Internet users in the world, RockYou2021 could potentially include the passwords of the entire global online community. Therefore, the likelihood of finding your passwords in the list is very high.
Attackers can use this database by combining unique password options with other data from earlier leaks, such as email addresses. In addition, passwords can be used for special dictionaries to carry out brute-force attacks.
How do I check my passwords?
The CyberNews website has the ability to check if a particular password has been compromised. At the moment, the resource specialists are updating their database with information from the RockYou2021 leak. This may take a while, so it is recommended that you repeat the check in a day or two.
If the password is on the list, it is advisable to change it to a more complex one. It is better to use specialized software for these purposes: generators or password managers. It’s also a good idea to enable two-factor authentication.