16 billion passwords leaked across Apple, Google, more: What to know and how to protect yourself

With so much news about data breaches, you have to be careful not to panic each time you hear of a new one. Take the latest report of a major breach.

In the headline for a recent story published by Cybernews, the cybersecurity media outlet said that 16 billion passwords were exposed in a record-breaking data breach, opening access to Facebook, Google, Apple, and any other service imaginable. Sounds scary, right? But reading the story itself paints a different picture.

Also: 184 million passwords for Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and more leaked in massive data breach

Despite what the headline says, the reported 16 billion passwords didn't come from a single massive data breach. Rather, this is based on 30 different datasets that Cybernews said it's been monitoring since the beginning of 2025.

"Our team has been closely monitoring the web since the beginning of the ...