Millions of email account passwords may be compromised

A security expert claims that the safety of millions of email accounts have been compromised by a Russian hacker. So, if you use Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo for you email it’s well worth changing your passwords.

According to Alex Holden of Hold Security, the details of 272.3 million emails accounts are being freely traded online having been obtained by a young Russian hacker. The most impacted email provider was mail.ru where the majority of users have had their details, including passwords, pinched. Other providers were affected too.

Holden says: “This information is potent. It is floating around in the underground and this person has shown he’s willing to give the data away to people who are nice to him. These credentials can be abused multiple times.”

The real risk here is whether you repeatedly use the same password across sites. The established pattern from such scams is that people may be using the same password and scammers try their luck to access other accounts a person may have.

Password security is always a bore but now is likely a good time to review your behaviour and change the most vital passwords you use online.