Report: Russian Hackers Steal 1.2 Billion Usernames, Passwords

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Russian hackers have reportedly stolen 1.2 billion user names and passwords in a series of Internet heists affecting 420,000 websites.

The stolen Internet information was discovered by a security firm in Milwaukee, the New York Times reports. The material included names, Internet sites, and more than 500 million email addresses.

To obtain the data, the firm says the gang had to hack in and rob close to half a million web and FTP sites. As a result, officials fear much of the information will be sold.

While the report doesn’t cite particular websites or organizations by name, experts caution consumers to pay attention to account details.

“I think certainly everyone should care,” said Michael Gorman, editor-in-chief at Engadget.  “I mean it’s getting to the point now where everyone has to take responsibility for what you do on the web.”

Individuals participating in online business should use different passwords for different sites and monitor credit card statements, Gorman added.

Still, with the new data breach, online bankers may not need to worry.

“A lot of the times when you’re seeing these kind of leaks you’re seeing them coming from retail outlets or other places,” he said. “Financial institutions tend to have robust IT systems and very or more secure systems maybe than a lot of other websites would have.”

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