“Mother of All Breaches” Debunked: 16 Billion Passwords Are an Aggregation of Old Leaks, Not New Hacks

The announcement of the so-called “mother of all breaches” sent shockwaves through the media: headlines blared dire warnings, while the tone of coverage bordered on panic. Yet the actual substance of the event is far less dramatic. This was not a novel cyberattack or fresh data breach, but rather a compilation of credentials previously stolen over the years—aggregated into a single database. These records, the detritus of infostealer operations, legacy breaches, and brute-force credential stuffing campaigns, were merely collected and briefly exposed to the public.

The compilation, uncovered by Cybernews, was formatted in the typical style of infostealer logs. However, the researchers refrained from publishing the raw data samples. In essence, these are archive files containing plain-text records—thousands of lines long—detailing login credentials. The format generally follows a pattern such as:
URL:username:password

The source of this data is, more often than not, the infected personal computers of unsuspecting users. Infostealers—malware specifically engineered to harvest sensitive information—scrape saved logins, passwords, tokens, session keys, crypto wallets, and other valuable digital assets from browsers, applications, and local files. Once gathered, the data is bundled into a log and transmitted to a command-and-control server. These logs may then be sold on underground forums or publicly released as bait to bolster reputation or promote paid services.

The threat posed by infostealers has become so pervasive that stolen credentials now represent one of the primary means by which unauthorized access is gained to private networks and accounts. These records are weaponized in attacks against corporations, institutions, and individuals alike. Even brief exposure—on platforms like Telegram, Pastebin, or Discord—can result in the mass leakage of millions of username-password pairs.

The recently exposed archive, totaling over 1.2 GB, contained tens of thousands of compromised accounts. And it is but one among hundreds of thousands of similar leaks. Collectively, they amount to billions of records—credentials that have been circulating within the dark web and cybercriminal circles for years. Previous examples include the infamous RockYou2024 compilation, with over 9 billion entries, and Collection #1, which contained 22 million unique passwords.

To be fair, there is nothing fundamentally new in this latest leak. No websites were breached in recent days, nor were any apps directly compromised by the disclosed database. The publication is merely another reflection of the digital detritus long accumulating in shadowy corners of the internet—a lingering hazard for anyone still recycling passwords or failing to secure their accounts.

Still, the problem remains pressing. Infostealers continue to propagate actively—through phishing sites, counterfeit software updates, and even malicious ad banners. In 2024 and 2025, international law enforcement agencies conducted operations to suppress the distribution of such malware, including Operation Secure and the takedown of LummaStealer. Yet the threat persists.

So what should users do in the face of such persistent danger? First and foremost: ensure their systems are clean. Before changing any passwords, it is imperative to verify that no malware remains on the device. If a password is updated before removing an infostealer, the new credentials will be immediately compromised.

Next, improve password hygiene—employ unique, complex combinations for each site and store them in a reputable password manager. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA), preferably through dedicated apps such as Google Authenticator, Authy, or Microsoft Authenticator, rather than via SMS. Many modern password managers also support storing 2FA codes alongside credentials for added convenience and security.

Even if your password has been exposed, strong 2FA provides a critical layer of defense, rendering unauthorized access nearly impossible.

To assess whether your accounts have appeared in past breaches, specialized breach-checking services are available. And if you’re still reusing passwords across multiple sites, now is the time to change that. The sooner these safeguards are implemented, the less severe the consequences will be when the next breach inevitably occurs.