Researchers have discovered yet another massive trove of sensitive data, a dizzying 1.2 TB database containing login credentials, browser cookies, au

A Mystery Malware Stole 26 Million Passwords From Windows PCs

submited by

Style Pass

2021-06-12 03:30:03

Researchers have discovered yet another massive trove of sensitive data, a dizzying 1.2 TB database containing login credentials, browser cookies, autofill data, and payment information extracted by malware that has yet to be identified.

This story originally appeared on Ars Technica, a trusted source for technology news, tech policy analysis, reviews, and more. Ars is owned by WIRED's parent company, Condé Nast.

In all, researchers from NordLocker said on Wednesday, the database contained 26 million login credentials, 1.1 million unique email addresses, more than 2 billion browser cookies, and 6.6 million files. In some cases, victims stored passwords in text files created with the Notepad application.

The stash also included over 1 million images and more than 650,000 Word and PDF files. Additionally, the malware made a screenshot after it infected the computer and took a picture using the device’s webcam. Stolen data also came from apps for messaging, email, gaming, and file-sharing. The data was extracted between 2018 and 2020 from more than 3 million PCs.

The discovery comes amid an epidemic of security breaches involving ransomware and other types of malware hitting large companies. In some cases, including the May ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, hackers first gained access using compromised accounts. Many such credentials are available for sale online.