Biggest Data Breach in History: 16 bn Records Exposed in Massive Leak

Security researchers have uncovered what may be the largest data breach ever recorded—a trove of 30 unprotected databases containing a staggering 16 billion user records, according to a report from Cybernews.

The data appears to have been collected by cybercriminals and possibly white hat researchers using various infostealer malware.

The databases include account information from major platforms such as Google, Apple, Telegram, GitHub, and several VPN services. The datasets range in size from millions to billions of records, and only one of the 30 had previously been reported—a mysterious leak involving 184 million records.

Cybernews noted that these databases were briefly exposed online before being locked down. The owners of the databases remain unidentified, and overlapping records make it difficult to determine the exact number of people affected.

With over 5.5 billion people using the internet globally, many are likely to have multiple compromised accounts.

Researchers stress that unprotected databases remain a major source of data leaks, often due to misconfigured cloud services and poor understanding of security responsibilities.

Recently, Cloudflare said it has defended the internet from what it describes as the largest-ever DDoS attack, blocking a staggering 7.3 terabits per second (Tbps) assault in mid‑May, the company revealed.

The record‑breaking attack, which peaked 12% higher than the previous Cloudflare record and surpassed a recent 6.3 Tbps incident, targeted one of its hosting‑provider clients using Magic Transit.