Germany Warns of 16 Million Hacked Email Accounts
Germany’s Federal Office for Online Security (BSI) warned Internet users that cybercriminals had gotten ahold of a list of 16 million email addresses and passwords.
According to BSI, the information came out of analysis of botnets by research institutions and law enforcement.
BSI did not make clear in its statement how exactly the botnet operators got their hands on the login information, or what online services the login information is for. The agency did say however that this type of information is often swiped using keyloggers. Since many people use the same login credentials for multiple sites, having email and password information opens up many different possibilities for attackers.
“Identity theft is one of the greatest risks in the use of the Internet,” the BSI said in their announcement, adding that in the wrong hands, login information could be used for fraud.
The email addresses were given to the BSI so that victims could be notified.
To deal with the situation, the BSI set up a Website where users can enter their email address to check if they have been victimized. If so, the user will be sent an email from the BSI with recommendations on how they can protect themselves.
Agency spokesman Tim Griese told the Associated Press about half the accounts have .de domain-name endings, and it appears the majority of users are in Germany. The compromised accounts have email addresses as the username, but may be for social networks or other sites.
The BSI recommends anyone affected by the situations should check their computers for malware using antivirus, and change all of their passwords.
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