Cybersecurity
Hackers Tried Recycled Passwords on More Than a Million Accounts
- New York AG announces results of ‘credential stuffing’ inquiry
- Officials worked with firms to improve their cybersecurity
Photographer: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
More than 1 million online accounts across 17 well-known companies were the victim of hacking attempts that reused previously stolen passwords swirling around the internet, New York’s top law enforcement officer said Wednesday.
The ruse, known as a “credential stuffing attack,” involves a cyber criminal trying to repeatedly access someone’s account by deploying user names and passwords that were previously made public. User names and passwords are sometimes posted or sold on the dark web or hacking forums after being stolen in cyberattacks.