Partner Content Ever felt that gut punch after losing something important, like your house keys? Now picture those, along with 184 million others, resting in plain sight at the wildest equivalent of Comic-Con for criminals.
That’s what happened in May 2025 when Jeremiah Fowler stumbled across a database containing over 184 millions records, featuring the exposed credentials of users from Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Paypal, Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify across more than 47 GB of data.
Fowler’s attempts to trace the source led only to dead ends, and after sending a responsible disclosure notice, the hosting provider quickly restricted public access to the database and refused to reveal any information about their customer. Whether this trove was the work of threat actors or some researcher’s blunder remains a mystery, as does how long it sat exposed or who else might have quietly helped themselves before it was finally locked down.
“To confirm the authenticity of the data, I messaged multiple email addresses listed in the database and explained that I was investigating a data exposure that may have involved their information,” Fowler said. “I was able to validate several records as these individuals confirmed that the records contained their accurate and valid passwords.”
This wasn’t just a random password breach or leak, it was a carefully harvested collection, likely assembled by malware lurking on infected devices and then dumped for sale or exploitation. Whether the haul was destined for the dark web or an academic paper, the result is the same: hundreds of millions of people and businesses now face the very real possibility that their digital keys are in someone else’s hands. And as Fowler put it, “This is a cybercriminal’s dream working list.”
Stacking up the breaches
And if you think, “Here we go again, another data breach story”, hold on, here’s the kicker: in June 2025, just a few weeks after Fowler’s discovery,16 billion more login credentials for Apple, Facebook and Google accounts were exposed across 30 datasets.
This hacker’s race accelerates faster than your IT guys can sigh and say “It’s time to reset passwords.” If you stacked those credentials end-to-end, you’d have enough to circle the globe several times, or at least fill a few terabytes of regret.
So how does this happen? The mechanism behind these breaches is simple: infostealer malware. These malicious programs silently extract credentials stored in your browser, then ship the data off to cybercriminals who compile it into searchable databases. Unlike the old-school brute force attacks, these infostealers don’t need to guess; they just take.
The numbers behind these identity thefts are as grim as you’d expect. Despite years of cybersecurity awareness training, 60% of password breaches are linked to the human factor: clicking, sharing, or just reusing passwords.
In other words, the vast majority of attacks aren’t zero-day exploits or Hollywood-style hacks. They’re opportunistic grabs, made possible by the simplest of mistakes. The uncomfortable truth is that no amount of training can overcome the fundamental cognitive limitations that make maintaining password security an impossible task for unassisted humans.
And before you dismiss it as a problem for the other guy to solve, think about this: once they have your credentials, it’s not a question of if, but when someone decides to impersonate you, drain your accounts, or hijack your reputation. Think locked accounts, fake invoices, and your CFO getting heartfelt requests for urgent payments from someone pretending to be you.
Cheaper than a cup of coffee
All this chaos doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Behind every breach and account takeover sits a thriving marketplace, where stolen credentials are traded with the efficiency of a stock exchange and the complete indifference of a vending machine. Forget the image of lone hackers hoarding passwords. Today, it’s a full-blown supply chain with an industrialized, professional, and ruthlessly fast credential economy.
Speed: gone in 60 minutes
Your login details can be sold quicker than most food delivery services can bring you coffee and for less than the price of a flat white. Let’s start with the speed. Once an infostealer like RedLine, Raccoon, or Vidar lands on a device, it takes less than 60 minutes for your credentials to leak to a bustling digital marketplace. These aren’t the shadowy back alleys of cyberpunk lore, but slick, professional operations: Genesis, 2Easy — the names that have become as familiar to threat analysts as “phishing email” is to your IT help desk.
Scale: billions are not enough
The scale is industrial. In 2024 alone, 2.8 billion passwords were up for grabs. And thanks to automated infostealers, the flow is relentless. Credentials are uploaded, sorted, and listed for sale with all the efficiency of an Amazon fulfillment center, minus the motivational posters.
Price: shopping for credentials
Pricing is refreshingly democratic, if somewhat depressing. VPN or RDP access to your network? Ranging from €1 to €10. A working Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace login? €2 to €15. Slack or GitHub cookies? Just a few cents. Even credit card details, once the crown jewels of cyber crime, now average €33.88 per card. For €100, an aspiring cyber criminal can buy thousands of valid attempts. That’s less an investment, more a wholesale purchase.
Checkout: your data in the basket
The business model is pure retail. It uses loss-leader campaigns (free leaks to build reputation), compilation services that aggregate data from multiple breaches, and real-time updates piped straight to messengers. Reputation systems, customer support, and even money-back guarantees are all there, just like any other e-commerce platform. The difference? It’s you on the shelf.
What does this mean for corporate security? First, credential theft is no longer the work of lone wolves. It’s an industrial process, with economies of scale and professional customer service. Second, the rock-bottom prices mean attacks are no longer targeted: they’re opportunistic and relentless. If you still rely on primitive password policies, you’re not just a target, but a victim.
The way out and security baseline
So, what’s the exit strategy from this industrial-scale credential chaos? You don’t need to ban passwords or revert to pen and paper. The practical answer is enterprise-level password managers. Forget the stereotype of password managers as consumer-grade tools for remembering streaming logins. Today, these platforms are core elements of corporate security architecture. They cut friction, free up support bandwidth, reduce the chance of human error, enforce cybersecurity standards and integrate in other services removing the weakest link from your authentication chain.
Let’s address the elephant in the server room. Why do many businesses hesitate? Cost, complexity, and training concerns top up the list. Nobody wants another tool that disrupts workflows or creates new problems. Fair enough. But consider the alternative: The average cost of a data breach in 2025 exceeds €3.4 million.
Modern password managers like Passwork solve the core problem of credential reuse by generating and storing unique, complex passwords for every account. They centralize control, provide visibility into password hygiene, and deliver audit trails for compliance teams. Integration with SSO, MFA, and directory services means they fit into existing infrastructure without drama.
Password manager that actually works
When choosing a password manager, focus on what truly counts. You need enterprise-grade security solutions. If your password manager isn’t guarding secrets like a paranoid dragon, you’re playing with fire. The minimal learning curve and user experience must be a top priority, if the tool feels like it’s stuck in 1998, your team won’t touch it. And above all, password management should save time, not create new bottlenecks.
Most solutions ignore the main problem: when people don’t use them, your security falls apart. That’s why it’s worth paying attention to how Passwork approaches the essentials for addressing business and cybersecurity concerns:
- Secure by default: Your credentials are protected by enterprise-grade Zero trust architecture and strict access controls. Every credential is locked down with end-to-end AES-256 industry-leading encryption.
- Zero drama onboarding: Users log in, and they’re ready to go. No endless training sessions, no resistance.
- Slick UI: The interface is clean and intuitive, and refreshingly free of 90s nostalgia. Your team won’t need a manual or a pep talk to get started.
- Data sovereignty: On-premise deployment means your business keeps full control over sensitive data. Nothing leaves your perimeter unless you say so.
- Granular access control: Role-based access control (RBAC) lets you define exactly who gets access to what.
- Prompt, real support: When something goes sideways, Passwork’s team jumps in. There are no endless wait times, and no canned responses. Fast action means small hiccups stay small.
- API integration: Rather than creating another isolated system, Passwork becomes part of the broader technology ecosystem that employees already use daily.
Passwork is ISO 27001 certified, so you get internationally recognized assurance that your data is managed and protected according to the highest standards. It undergoes regular penetration testing by HackerOne, exposing the system to real-world attack scenarios and ensuring vulnerabilities are found and fixed before anyone else can exploit them.
The bottom line: stop rolling the dice
The days of hoping your passwords stay safe by accident are over. The sheer scale and speed of identity theft in 2025 proves that no one can afford to leave password management to chance. With billions of credentials exposed, industrialized marketplaces selling access for pocket change, and infostealers automating the theft process, relying on outdated policies and solutions is reckless.
The threat is relentless, but so is the solution. Protect yourself, your business, your people, and your reputation. Move password management out of the “nice-to-have” category and into your core security strategy before your credentials end up as someone else’s commodity. For those looking to strengthen their approach, Passwork helps turn password chaos into order, centralize control, enforce strong credential practices, and meet modern cybersecurity requirements. It makes password management a controlled, auditable process instead of a persistent risk.
Contributed by Passwork .