Looking at cybercriminal black markets and public forums, the company found millions of usernames and passwords stolen directly through hacking. It also uncovered billions usernames and passwords indirectly exposed in third-party data breaches, CNN tech reports.
For one year, Google researchers investigated the different ways hackers steal personal information and take over Google (GOOG) accounts. Google published its research, conducted between March 2016 and March 2017, on Thursday.
Focusing exclusively on Google accounts and in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, researchers created an automated system to scan public websites and criminal forums for stolen credentials. The group also investigated over 25,000 criminal hacking tools, which it received from undisclosed sources.
Google said it is the first study taking a long term and comprehensive look at how criminals steal your data, and what tools are most popular.
"One of the interesting things [we found] was the sheer scale of information on individuals that's out there and accessible to hijackers," Kurt Thomas, security researcher at Google told CNN Tech.
Even if someone has no malicious hacking experience, he or she could find all the tools they need on criminal hacker forums.