Tech
FBI Confirms 630 Million Stolen Passwords — How To Check Yours Now
FBI reveals 630 million stolen passwords.
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Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse in terms of cybersecurity bad news this week, the FBI has revealed a staggering database of 630 million compromised passwords from multiple devices seized from a hacker. Here’s what to know and how to check if your passwords are on the danger list.
FBI Finds 630 Million Stolen Passwords On Seized Hackers’ Devices
Troy Hunt, the creator of the ingenious Have I Been Pwned and Pwned Passwords services, has confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has handed over a staggering list of 630 million compromised passwords to add to the HIBP database of 17 billion compromised accounts. The FBI has been sending Hunt compromised passwords for four years, as uncovered during the course of cybercrime investigations, but what’s concerning and almost unbelievable in equal measure is that the latest haul is from a single hacker.
“This latest corpus of data came to us as a result of the FBI seizing multiple devices belonging to a suspect,” Hunt said, adding that ”the sheer scope of cybercrime can be hard to fathom, even when you live and breathe it every day.” To which I can only say, indeed it is.
It seems that the hacked passwords have come from open and dark web marketplaces, Telegram channels and, inevitably, infostealer attacks.
All of which means, of course, that not all of the 630 million credentials handed over to Hunt are going to be fresh to market, as it were. And, indeed, that appears to be the case following an initial HIBP team analysis: “We hadn’t seen about 7.4% of them in HIBP before,” Hunt confirmed, “which might sound small, but that’s 46 million vulnerable passwords we weren’t giving people using the service the opportunity to block.”
FBI Stolen Credentials Handover: How To Check If Your Passwords Are On The List
The good news is that all of the stolen credentials, all those compromised passwords, are now searchable from a single location, which leaves you a second or two away from discovering if any of yours are included.
Head to the Pwned Passwords service, and enter your password. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe and won’t put your passwords in any danger, just the opposite in fact. “No password is stored next to any personally identifiable data such as an email address,” Hunt said, “and every password is SHA-1 hashed.”
Most importantly, do it now so you can change any passwords that are already compromised before your accounts fall victim to credential-stuffing attacks. I would also recommend that you use a password manager, despite some having suffered breaches, as it is safer than reusing a handful of easily remembered ones. Oh, and enable passkeys on any accounts that support them. Then there’s the small matter of activating two-factor authentication on all your accounts as well. Stay safe, even when the FBI finds the next big stolen password haul. It’s only a matter of time.
Tech
Samsung May Stop Producing These SSDs Next Year
Samsung may be preparing to step away from SATA SSD production. According to multiple industry reports, the company is planning a long-term exit from SATA SSD manufacturing starting next year.
YouTuber Moore’s Law Is Dead (MLID) says several sources have told him Samsung will end SATA SSD production entirely after it fulfills existing contracts.
SATA SSDs can feel like older technology as more new laptops and desktops rely on faster NVMe storage. High-end systems have also moved to SAS (Serial Attached SCSI).
Still, SATA SSDs remain common in 2025. They continue to see demand in budget PCs, external storage, and upgrades for older machines. Retail channels also continue to sell SATA SSDs in large numbers.
Samsung is one of the largest suppliers of finished consumer SSDs. MLID says Samsung-made SSDs make up a significant portion of top-selling products on major online retailers, with roughly one-fifth of those listings still using the SATA interface.
If Samsung removes that supply, the impact may extend beyond one product category. The report suggests the move could tighten availability across the broader SSD market, including NVMe drives.
The report lands as memory pricing faces pressure. Samsung has reportedly raised DDR5 memory prices by as much as 60% recently. Micron has also decided to halt its consumer memory business to focus on supplying memory for high-powered AI chips.
The reports suggest end consumers are likely to feel the effects the most.
For now, Samsung has not made anything official. But if the company does exit SATA SSDs, the report suggests SATA drives could become more expensive and harder to find than many expect.
Tech
Pakistan Tops Global Searches for Explicit Content
Pakistan continues to rank at the top globally in searches related to indecent content, despite no longer leading in actual viewership, Director General Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Dr. Muqarram Ali said while addressing a cybersecurity seminar at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
He said that following PTA’s actions, including large-scale blocking of indecent websites, a clear impact has been observed, and Pakistan is no longer at the top in terms of viewing such content. He added that Pakistan had previously ranked highest in viewership, but sustained enforcement measures have moved the country down from that position.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Muqarram Ali said the PTA is actively working on online child protection and has blocked around 1.3 million indecent websites. He stated that the authority only blocks immoral and unethical material and does not act proactively to shut down websites on its own.
He further said that the PTA often receives contradictory court orders, with one court directing the blocking of a platform while another ordering that it should not be blocked. He added that the authority is bound to follow the prescribed legal and administrative system in such cases.
Referring to the temporary blocking of Wikipedia, the PTA chief said the move triggered an international reaction, after which an inter-ministerial committee was formed to review the issue. He said that the PTA blocks websites strictly on government directives, noting that similar instructions were also issued during previous governments.
Highlighting cyber security developments, Dr. Muqarram Ali said Pakistan has emerged among the top countries in cyber security preparedness. He claimed that during the Pak-India conflict in May, Pakistan won the cyber war and that not a single Pakistani website was taken offline. He also clarified that the PTA does not collect mobile taxes, stating that this responsibility lies with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Tech
Apple’s Edge Light Adds A Virtual Ring Light To Your Mac Video Calls: Here’s How To Use It
Apple released a new MacOS update recently. It brings the Edge Light feature to all Apple silicon-powered Macs. Here’s how you can use it on your next video call.
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