The \u201816 billion password breach\u2019 story is a farce | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Experts told CyberScoop the research 'doesn\u2019t pass a sniff test' and detracts from needed conversations around credential abuse and information stealers.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/colossal-data-breach-16-billion-credentials-no-evidence-media-exaggeration\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The \u201816 billion password breach\u2019 story is a farce\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Experts told CyberScoop the research 'doesn\u2019t pass a sniff test' and detracts from needed conversations around credential abuse and information stealers.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/colossal-data-breach-16-billion-credentials-no-evidence-media-exaggeration\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" 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<\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"25.229016786571\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"34.208955223881\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/colossal-data-breach-16-billion-credentials-no-evidence-media-exaggeration\/\"> <span>Cybercrime<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Experts told CyberScoop the research ‘doesn\u2019t pass a sniff test’ and detracts from needed conversations around credential abuse and information stealers. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/84962\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg 8256w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> (Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"94.177465802736\"><body readability=\"191.02856410913\"><\/p>\n<p>Supposed experts and mainstream media have spent the past few days hyperventilating over reports of a colossal data breach that exposed more than 16 billion credentials \u2014 a level of theft that should have defenders clutching their pearls. There\u2019s just one inconvenient detail: the original report is curiously short on anything resembling actual evidence to support its sensational claim.<\/p>\n<p>Attacks that affect billions of accounts often generate headlines and get the industry talking about ways to prevent the attack from repeating itself. Yet, the <a href=\"https:\/\/cybernews.com\/security\/billions-credentials-exposed-infostealers-data-leak\/\">story Cybernews published<\/a> Friday, which has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/urgent-alarm-issued-mother-data-183500259.html\">picked up and repeated<\/a> across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/google-passwords-leaked-data-breach-cybernews-16-billion\/\">all manner of media<\/a> in the past few days, has engendered eyerolls from cybersecurity experts for its extraordinary, dubious conclusions.<\/p>\n<p>The firehose of content frames the exposed credentials as recent, singular and ultimately the largest data breach in history. Multiple incident response specialists, researchers and cybersecurity experts who spoke with CyberScoop either outright disputed those claims or questioned the data and analysis the assertion was based upon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese massive dumps have been announced for years, and they are always a recycled pile of credentials with a few new ones sprinkled in,\u201d said Chester Wisniewski, director and global field CISO at Sophos.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The entire ordeal is yet another example that the business interests of cybersecurity feed on fear \u2014 both perceived and real. Stories like this often spread like wildfire because they speak to real issues and a perception that has set in across the industry. <\/p>\n<p>Even if the details of Friday\u2019s story are blown out of proportion, credential theft is a real and omnipresent threat. Credential abuse was the <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/verizon-data-breach-investigations-report-2025\/\">top initial access vector for breaches<\/a> last year, according to Verizon. Infostealers were used to steal <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/infostealers-cybercrime-surged-2024-flashpoint\/\">2.1 billion credentials last year<\/a>, accounting for nearly two-thirds of 3.2 billion credentials stolen from all organizations, Flashpoint said in a March report. <\/p>\n<p>Yet, the limited evidence \u2014 just three screenshots \u2014 provided by Cybernews and Bob Diachenko, who is credited with \u201cdiscovering\u201d the credential breach, is a crucial sticking point. When reached for comment, Diachenko admitted that the data was cumulative records discovered since the beginning of the year and not reflective of a singular data breach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNone of our CTI sources were able to verify that this is anything new,\u201d and there are no raw files or verified feeds for researchers to sift through, said Rob Lee, chief of research and head of faculty at SANS Institute.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the intelligence world, we can\u2019t have hyperbole,\u201d he said. SANS isn\u2019t invalidating the report entirely, but Lee noted: \u201cThis doesn\u2019t pass a sniff test.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Cyber threat intelligence relies on deep information broadly shared across the industry. Data or conclusions that aren\u2019t actionable don\u2019t help the community move things forward, Lee said. <\/p>\n<p>Other experts had similar sentiments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is not a singular, headline-grabbing breach at a major tech company. This cache of around 16 billion credentials reflects around 30 separate databases, stealer logs compiled over years \u2014 lots of overlap, much of it old,\u201d said Christiaan Beek, senior director of threat analytics at Rapid7.<\/p>\n<p>The result is a \u201crecycled, inflated dataset to generate fear,\u201d Beek said. \u201cInfostealer malware continues to collect credentials constantly, and these aggregated dumps get recycled and reissued on various forums or platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The impact of what\u2019s contained in the dataset, something Beek described as a \u201cfearset,\u201d depends on which part of the data is new or used. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Allan Liska, threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, drew the same conclusion. \u201cBy comparing released sample data against previous credential leaks we can see that most, if not all, of these credentials were from previously released password dumps. Some going back years,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven the formatting of the leak, it\u2019s likely these were all from previous infostealer campaigns. There is no one campaign that they are tied to; instead, the passwords were collected from hundreds of different campaigns,\u201d Liska said.<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-exaggeration-begets-complacency\">Exaggeration begets complacency<\/h5>\n<p>In an industry rife with real, indisputable problems, experts warned that misinformation or embellishment can be a disservice. At the very least, it deflects or draws attention away from verified attacks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrying wolf does lead to complacency,\u201d Wisniewski said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Said Liska: \u201cWhen headlines like these take up all the oxygen in the room, it\u2019s harder for real security stories to garner the attention they need.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe real lesson that should be learned from this is the pervasiveness of infostealer malware and how people and organizations should be protecting against this type of malware,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe fact that someone was able to put together 16 billion records from, essentially, table scraps shows how big that problem is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the report\u2019s findings are questionable, it\u2019s not a stretch to assume most credentials have already been stolen in one form or another. Passwords haven\u2019t been fit for purpose for a long time, and stories like this underscore the importance of multifactor authentication and passwordless authentication methods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny time we can focus the public\u2019s attention on online hygiene, we should take the opportunity,\u201d Wisniewski said. \u201cPeople are under the mistaken belief that it can\u2019t, won\u2019t or hasn\u2019t happened to them, and these stories highlight that it is happening to all of us and action is required.\u201d<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-hasty-communications-trap\">The hasty communications trap<\/h5>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>What has made the situation even more damaging is that many cybersecurity companies responded to the story as a marketing opportunity for their products or a chance to insert executive commentary into the news cycle. Dozens of companies have reached out to CyberScoop to comment on the story over the past few days, accepting it as fact without investigating further internally or waiting for third-party experts to validate. <\/p>\n<p>Password manager Keeper Security posted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/keeper-security-inc-_16-billion-apple-facebook-google-and-other-activity-7341927588321275906-KFH-\/\">commentary on LinkedIn<\/a> describing \u201cthe largest password leak in history\u201d as \u201cconfirmed,\u201d repeating the claim that 16 billion credentials from major tech platforms, including Google and Apple, were exposed. <\/p>\n<p>Keeper Security said it has a standing policy of not commenting on any specifics of any attack without adequate information and stood by its commentary.<\/p>\n<p>A Google spokesperson told CyberScoop the issue did not stem from a data breach. Apple did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<p>Communications in security in particular is \u201cso driven by FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and ambulance chasing, and I think that\u2019s what you see with this story,\u201d Kaylin Trychon, CMO at Edera, told CyberScoop.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe have to be just as much a subject matter expert as we can be in this space, especially in a space where information and validating it is so critical,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really important job as a communications person to know when to say no, to know when to say this is not our fight, this is not a moment for us to capitalize on right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about communications issues at large \u2014 not any specific company or executive\u2019s reaction \u2014 Trychon said details are everything in intrusions or data breaches. People who comment too early run the risk of being incorrect, which may impact their expert status, Trychon said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust because your name could be out there and the company brand could be out there, is not worth it if we get it wrong,\u201d she said. \u201cYou didn\u2019t have to say anything, and sometimes saying nothing is the best thing that you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.430608365019\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"14\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Matt Kapko\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Matt Kapko<\/h4>\n<p> Matt Kapko is a reporter at CyberScoop. His beat includes cybercrime, ransomware, software defects and vulnerability (mis)management. The lifelong Californian started his journalism career in 2001 with previous stops at Cybersecurity Dive, CIO, SDxCentral and RCR Wireless News. 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{"id":7753,"date":"2025-06-24T10:22:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T15:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=84962"},"modified":"2025-06-24T10:22:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T15:22:07","slug":"the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/06\/24\/the-16-billion-password-breach-story-is-a-farce\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201816 billion password breach\u2019 story is a farce"},"content":{"rendered":"