You know, we just came across this data breach, and it totally blew our mind. Apparently, this big cybersecurity firm called Surfark dropped a bombshell about online accounts India getting hacked to bits. 

Can you believe 17.1 million accounts got breached in just the first few months of 2024? Yeah, that’s right — millions! Wrap your head around that: it’s if every minute 132 people found out their online existence had been dunked into chaos. Compare that to the previous quarter where it was “just” six accounts per minute. Crazy jump, isn’t it?

Now here comes the kicker: because of these breaches, there’s an emerging crisis affecting folks all over the globe. It’s happening everywhere! According to Surfshark, since back in 2004, India ranks eighth worldwide on the list of countries with the most data leaks. Think about this – 320.5 MILLION leaked accounts since then!

But wait till you hear who’s at the top of this unfortunate leaderboard—yup, it’s The United States with a jaw-dropping 3 billion accounts hacked into oblivion. Russia’s pretty high up there too with 2.4 billion breaches; China follows with a hefty figure of 1.1 billion.

France? They’ve got their own share of woes with around half a billion (521.6 million). Germany is not far behind either at 486.7 million breached accounts.

Let’s travel across continents for more shocking stats: Brazil’s sitting at an eye-popping total of 354.2 million breached accounts while our friends over in the United Kingdom are dealing with close to what we’ve got – clocking in at approximately 321.9 million compromised user details.

Phew! It just makes you wonder… With so many breaches occurring left and right without much warning sometimes—how safe are we online really? Food for thought next time you’re signing up for another internet service or casually scrolling social media!

The analysis further reveals that out of the 320.5 million compromised accounts in India, 88 million are unique email addresses. On average, each email address is linked to 3.8 additional personal records, leading to an exposure of approximately 1.2 billion personal records over the last two decades. 

Furthermore, 162 million passwords have been leaked alongside these accounts, putting half of the breached users at risk of account takeover. This situation heightens the potential for identity theft, extortion, and other cybercrimes.

In comparison to other countries, India experienced 13.3 times more breaches than Bangladesh, which saw 1.3 million breaches, and 4.1 times fewer breaches than China, which experienced 70.6 million breaches in the same period. 

Among the notable data breach incidents in India from January to March 2024 is the case involving Cutout Pro, an AI-powered platform specialising in image and video editing, which led to the leak of 8.1 million email addresses.

In addition, there was a significant data breach affecting the Indian consumer wearable brand Boat. This breach exposed the personal data of over 7.5 million users, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and customer IDs. Adding to the concerns, cybersecurity company CloudSEK confirmed a major data breach from an Indian mobile network database. 

A threat actor known as “CyboDevil” was reportedly selling a 1.8-terabyte database on the dark web that contained the personal data of 750 million people. Aadhaar information, phone numbers, addresses, and names were among the compromised data, affecting around 85% of the population.

A Surfshark spokesman, Lina Survila, underlined the ongoing danger of data breaches on a global scale. She said, “An worrisome digital reality is shown by Surfshark’s thorough monitoring of data breach trends over the past 20 years: data breaches continue to pose a hazard to people worldwide. A startling 17 billion user accounts have been compromised globally since 2004, with 400 million cases reported at the beginning of this year.

There are now 17 billion compromised user accounts worldwide, of which 38% have unique email addresses. 17.2 billion of the 60.9 billion data points that have been made public are email addresses. 

Three more pieces of information are typically disclosed along with every email address. Surfshark’s independent partners aggregated data from 29,000 publicly accessible databases to create the data breach figures.

Globally, the total number of leaked user accounts has reached 17 billion, with 38 percent of these being unique email addresses. In total, 60.9 billion data points have been exposed, of which 17.2 billion are email addresses. Three more pieces of information are typically disclosed along with every email address. Surfshark’s independent partners aggregated data from 29,000 publicly accessible databases to create the data breach figures.

Each breached or leaked email address was analysed along with associated information such as passwords, phone numbers, and IP addresses. The data was anonymized and statistically analysed by Surfshark’s researchers.

This report highlights the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect user data and mitigate the risks associated with data breaches. As digital platforms continue to grow and integrate deeper into daily life, the importance of securing personal information becomes increasingly critical. 

Users are advised to take proactive steps to safeguard their online accounts, such as using strong, unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and regularly monitoring their accounts for suspicious activity.

In response to these findings, cybersecurity experts stress the importance of education and awareness in preventing data breaches. Individuals and organisations alike must remain vigilant and adopt best practices for cybersecurity. 

The rise in data breaches not only poses a threat to individual privacy but also has significant implications for national security and economic stability. As cybercriminals continue to exploit vulnerabilities, the collective effort of all stakeholders is essential to combat this growing menace.

Surfshark’s report serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities inherent in the digital age. With millions of accounts being breached every year, the need for enhanced cybersecurity measures has never been more pressing. 

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