Irish web users urged to be vigilant after gang steals 1.2bn user passwords

Irish internet users need to be particularly vigilant following a recent breach by Russian ‘cyber gangs’ who amassed 1.2bn passwords.

Threat-defence experts at Trend Micro, the global security company with a European Operations Centre in Cork, warned internet users of the risk, in coming months, of how personal data may be compromised by cyber criminals.

Dervla Mannion of Trend Micro said: “Once these credentials are stolen, in many cases this information is sold as a commodity in the cyber underground, also known as The Deep Web.

“They are bought and sold to be used for various fraudulent undertakings from identity theft to outright looting of accounts while usernames and passwords can be circulated for some time before the victim becomes aware.”

In its Cybercriminal Underground Economy Series, Trend Micro reveals how the cybercriminal underground is thriving, as the number of victims continues to grow on the web. “The scope of this data breach illustrates the depth and breadth of internet users that are no longer safe from cyber crime,” said Tom Kellermann, chief cybersecurity officer at Trend Micro.

“Attacks are growing exponentially. This Russian cybergang is formidable and the lasting effects of how this data will be used are yet to be uncovered. The Russian underground is a dangerous place for personal data,” he added.