Cybersecurity professionals warn that anyone with a personal email account might want to change their passwords following revelations of a massive cache of stolen user names and passwords being offered for sale on the Internet.
The thefts involved some of the biggest email providers in the world such as Google, Yahoo, Hotmail and Microsoft. The bulk of the stolen accounts—some 272.3 million—include Russia’s Mail.ru users, according to Alex Holden, founder and chief information security officer of Hold Security who discovered the theft.
The user names and passwords were being offered for sale on the so-called “dark web” where hackers hock their goods.
Hackers use stolen email information to lure users into giving away more information including birthdates, credit card numbers and bank account access.
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