Password Warning As 2.1 Billion Credentials Hit By Infostealer Attacks
Infostealers responsible for 75% of all credential theft.
If you are fed up with hearing about the threat posed by infostealer malware then I’ve got some bad news for you. Just as one story warning that 85 million stolen passwords are being used in ongoing attacks against enterprise networks, like London buses along comes another. This time, however, the numbers are bigger. Much bigger, in fact. New threat intelligence has confirmed that, across 2024, a total of 3.2 billion credentials were stolen. And that’s not the double-whammy of bad news I’ve got for you: 75% of those credentials, or 2.1 billion if you prefer, were compromised by infostealer malware attacks.
Threats Are Up Across the Security Landscape—Including Infostealer Malware Stats
Threat intelligence specialists Flashpoint have published an annual look at the global threat landscape based on the last 12 months of activity and analysis. Among the standout statistics for me was the fact that while the number of security vulnerabilities grew by 12% an astonishing 39% of the total have known exploits out there. Then there were the inevitable ransomware threat numbers, which, unfortunately, look like they are going in the wrong direction with a 10% increase in such attacks. Oh, and I should really also mention that, across all industry sectors, data breaches were up by 6% as well. But none of these grabbed my attention by the throat as much as those concerning the infostealer malware threat.
The headline credential theft statistic was that a staggering 3.2 billion items were stolen during 2024. That accounts for a rise of 33% when it comes to stolen passwords. But that’s still not what has me worried most of all. “Of all 3.2 billion stolen credentials in 2024,” the Flashpoint report said, “75% or 2.1 billion came from infostealer malware.”
These stolen credentials dominate dark web criminal marketplaces and cybercrime forums and are used to feed the fire of everything from account takeover attacks to ransomware. “Examining 2025,” Flashpoint warned, “over 200 million credentials have already been stolen.”
The Infostealer Threat
It should come as no surprise that infostealer malware is on the rise. After all, it’s relatively simple to deploy, hugely effective and comes complete with low overhead costs for the attackers. The five infostealer malware variants that were most often deployed in attacks last year were, according to Flashpoint, Redline, RisePro, SteaC, Lumma Stealer and Meta Stealer. “The rapid emergence of new infostealer strains and the persistence of the market,” Flashpoint said, “even after the takedowns of Redline and Meta Stealer, indicates a highly adaptable and resilient threat landscape.”
When it comes to mitigation, then be careful what you search for should be your mantra. One recent infostealer attack, for example, employed 4,000 targeted keywords such as free, download and pdf. When it comes to protecting your password, be warned that the usual advice regarding the use of two-factor authentication on all accounts where it is available, along with email filtering solutions, applies. A strong password alone will not protect you from the infostealer malware threat.