Passwords, Privacy & Penalties: Lessons from the Largest Credential Leak in History

As technology and intelligence continue to evolve at an accelerated pace, the risks associated with personal data usage and security breaches have become a growing point of focus.

Cybernews has recently confirmed what is now considered the largest credential leak in history, over 16 billion passwords have been exposed online, potentially granting access to numerous digital platforms, including Google, Facebook, Apple, and enterprise systems worldwide.

For Nigerian Data Controllers and Data Processors, this is more than an Information Technology (IT) problem, it is a legal issue that calls for urgent action under the extant data protection laws and regulations in Nigeria.

This series explores the lessons to be learned and the compliance steps to be taken.

Why This Matters to Data Controllers and Data Processors

Given that Nigeria’s data protection laws now extend to data controllers and data processors who do not have any physical presence or are not domiciled in Nigeria but process or target the personal data of data subjects, the implications of this breach are far-reaching and potentially global in scope.