The impact of the biggest password leak in history: what do companies need to do now?

While many companies closely followed the unfolding of the technology market, one of the biggest cyber threats of recent years went almost unnoticed. More than 16 billion credentials were compromised in a single event, exposing logins from services such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Telegram, GitHub and even government platforms.

What was most alarming was not just the scale of the flight, but the sophistication with which it occurred. According to digital security experts, the collection of this data was done by silent malware, known as infostealers, capable of capturing passwords directly from browsers, cookies and active sessions in real time. This data did not come from old incidents repurposed. They are new, exploitable and organized in a way that allows for immediate attacks.

What does this mean in practice for companies and security managers?

This type of incident marks a new phase of cyber risks. We are no longer just talking about ransomware or visible attacks. The zero point is now in access: if an employee, supplier or third party had their credentials compromised, any internal service can be vulnerable - especially in companies that still operate with reactive controls, fragile authentication or lack of access traceability.

In addition, when these credentials are used in an automated way for login attempts, especially on embedded platforms (such as ERPs, cloud services, and CRMs), the impact can be devastating. It is no longer necessary to invade a system. Just have the right keys.

What needs to be done now, not six months from now

Companies that operate in regulated environments, that have governance obligations and that respond to frequent audits need to treat this event as a turning point. The answer requires more than changing passwords.

It is necessary to activate a response plan based on three pillars:

• Immediate review of privileged access
  Start with the accounts with greater power of change and data handling. Actions such as revoking inactive access, limiting administrative profiles and applying the segregation of functions can no longer be postponed.
  

• Strong authentication and multiple factors
  Isolated password is no longer a reliable protection mechanism. The requirement for MFA (multifactor authentication) needs to be expanded, especially in sensitive environments.
  

• Continuous monitoring with AI
  AI-based solutions, such as Vennx's Oracle, allow you to identify anomalous behaviors, improper access, and policy violations in real time. They eliminate the surprise factor and help to anticipate fraud.
  

The responsibility of who is at the head of the RCMP

For governance, risk and compliance leaders, the message is given: the security cycle based only on processes and periodic audits needs to evolve. The world has changed. Threats now occur at scale and with intelligence. And the only answer at that point is to combine technology with continuous analytical capability.

Tools like Vennx's SoD Discovery, for example, can structure, review and update risk matrices in an automated way, connecting profiles, positions and permissions with precision and speed.

Lessons we can learn

When billions of passwords are exposed and almost no one understands, we have a bigger problem than an isolated attack. We have a collective failure of surveillance, strategy and response. If your company still relies exclusively on passwords as the main layer of protection, you are vulnerable. And if the next audit is still expected to reveal the blind spots, it is overdue.

The new security reality requires immediate action, integrated technologies and a culture of prevention. It is not enough to react to risk. You have to be ahead of it.

Talk to a Vennx expert. We will show you how to improve your access and security structure with speed, intelligence and responsibility.