Time to change your password – again. A large database containing almost 5 million Gmail accounts and passwords was leaked on Bitcoin Security, a popular Russian website devoted to the cryptocurrency. This is not the first time this happened and will probably not be the last.
The text file was published on Tuesday night by user tvskit, according to CNews, the Russian news outlet that first broke the story. The leaker claimed that the majority of the accounts belong to users who speak English, Russian, or Spanish, and that approximately 60 percent are active. The passwords not only give access to Gmail, but a slew of other Google services such as Drive and the mobile payment system Google Wallet.
Svetlana Anurova, a Google representative, told CNews that the tech giant is aware of the breach and encouraged users to select a stronger password and enable two-step verification, a security measure where users are required to provide a passcode sent to their mobile devices before any changes can be made to their account.
The Gmail leak comes after two other major security breaches were leaked on the exact same Bitcoin forum, which targeted Russian email service prodiver Mail.ru and search engine Yandex. Those two breaches affected nearly 6 million Internet users.
Find out if your account was compromised
You can verify whether your account was affected by clicking here and entering your gmail address. You can also enable Google’s 2-step verification by following these steps.