If you've been following the news over the last 48 hours, you may have heard that over a billion usernames and passwords, along with half a billion emails were stolen by a Russian crime ring. This could be the largest data breach known to date.
We're writing today to update you on what has happened since the news broke, what we're doing about it, and what you can do.
What Did the Russian Crime Ring Do?
A Russian cybergang amassed over 4.5 billion records, mostly consisting of stolen usernames and passwords. 1.2 billion of these credentials appear to be unique, belonging to more than 500 million e-mail addresses. To collect such an astonishing number of credentials, the crime ring, dubbed “CyberVors” (“vor” meaning “thief” in Russian), robbed over 420,000 web and FTP sites, according to Hold Security.
What You Can Do
Due to the enormity of this breach, at least one or more of the online sites you have visited may have been compromised. You should take immediate action by changing the passwords for your email accounts and websites that contain your sensitive information, such as financial, health and credit card data. Use unique passwords for each site.
What LifeLock is Doing
Identity thieves may use this stolen data to collect more of your personal information. They could then commit other types of fraud: Open new credit accounts in your name, apply for loans, file fraudulent tax returns, take over your existing bank accounts, and more.
As a LifeLock member, if your personal information was stolen or misused, we're here to help.
Your LifeLock protection is constantly scanning over a trillion data points to watch for the kinds of fraud that go far beyond the misuse of an email address or website account. We will alert you if we see anything suspicious in our network.
MNH Credit Solutions offers LifeLock at $9 per month or $99 per year. Call today: 708-872-0811.
