Pastebin analysis reveals true scale of 2013 data breaches

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://news.techworld.com/security/3502442/pastebin-analysis-reveals-true-scale-of-2013-data-breaches/

By John E Dunn
Techworld
18 February 2014

The true scale of global data breaches must reach into the hundreds of 
millions, according to Swiss penetration testing outfit High-Tech Bridge 
which has discovered that 311,095 user credentials were posted to the 
popular Pastebin website during 2013 alone.

That haul represents the number of user records (i.e. logins and other 
credentials) posted to the site although in some cases the records were 
deleted so the firm fished them out of Google’s cache.

Although it's a small number in relation to the tens of millions of 
records stolen in November from US retailer Target, the 311,095 represents 
only a miniscule fraction of the total number of records hackers must have 
lifted from organisations and individuals during the year.

According to High-Tech Bridge, because hackers use Pastebin to post 
samples, what they found probably represents somewhere between a tenth of 
one percent and one percent of the total in play at any one time. The firm 
said it had been careful to remove fake hacks, duplicates and small crimes 
below 100 records.

[...]

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