Over 5,000 Gmail accounts and passwords have been leaked online.
According to reports, a file containing the database of all the accounts has been uploaded to social media platform Bitcoin Security Forum, with the user named tvskit first pointing out the appearance of the leak.
Mashable is claiming that the passwords seem to be old and don’t appear to actually belong to Gmail accounts.
“Instead, it seems that many of the passwords were taken from websites where users used their Gmail addresses to register, according to some of the leak’s victims as well as security experts,” said the site.
This means that people who use similar passwords across numerous accounts may be at the most risk. Users have been warned to “select strong passwords and be sure to use a two-step authentication” in order to protect their data.
A website has also been set up so that people can check if their address was included in the leak and is available here.
