Archive · 25 Jan 2026

149 Million Credentials Leaked in Unprotected Database

149 Million Credentials Leaked in Unprotected Database

A big problem happened where 149 million usernames and passwords were found online without any protection.

This wasn't done by hackers but by a researcher who found the data was left open for anyone to see.

The passwords were from many big websites like Gmail, Instagram, Netflix, and even some government sites.

The data was collected by a sneaky computer program called malware.

The researcher told the people who were hosting the data, but it took a month for them to take it down.

During that time, more passwords were added.

To stay safe, people should check their devices for malware, use special programs to manage passwords, turn on extra security steps like two-factor authentication, and not use the same password for different sites.

Sources