Hackers steal 1.2 billion user names, passwords

ClarksvilleNow.com Reporting
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Reports say Russian hackers have managed to steal 1.2 billion user names and passwords from 420,000 websites.

The New York Times reports that the security breach was discovered by Milwaukee firm Hold Security. The identities of the companies have not yet been released.

Experts urge the public to change passwords immediately to avoid the risk of identity theft.

“Any sites you use on a regular basis that may be tied to bank accounts or debit cards should be changed to make the passwords more difficult with a combination of letters and numbers,” said Christy Batts, Broadband Division Manager for CDE Lightband. “It’s always good to check the securities that you have in place.”

• Passwords should be long and use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and characters.

• Passwords should not be reused for multiple accounts.

• Password combinations should be something that cannot be found in a dictionary or easy to guess.