In current news; a Russian hackers gang recently aquired 1.2 billion usernames and passwords. Let's put 1,200,000,000 into a more fathomable number. The population of Canada is around 33 million, USA is approximately 319 million, if we combine those numbers and say that every person in Canada and the USA has 3 online accounts, this comes to a total of 1,036,000,000 accounts. Still 200 million short. This hack has been more concerning every day as the number is quickly rising.
They have attained these passwords by purchasing small databases on the internet and the black market, and eventually started buying larger and larger databases. Once they have a large enough stockpile, they send out a virus to sneak into the files. It runs rapid collecting personal information, breaking codes and easy passwords. After this step all the data is sent back to the hacker and most times there is no visual sign that the virus was even there.
We are not yet sure what this gang wants to do with the passwords, wether to collect money from online banking or just sell it off for a larger profit. But, listed below are some steps to help keep your online accounts safe and secure.
Some ways to stay protected!
In this generation a large part of our planets systems are based around technology and finding new ways to hold information on servers or cloud based programs. It is always a good idea to change passwords now and then. With a growing population becoming well versed in computer technology this just means we need to grow our knowledge about how to be safe on the web.