Russian criminals have stolen 1.2 billion Internet usernames and passwords, according to a respected security firm. Officials say this could be the largest collection of stolen digital credentials in history.

The news was first reported by The New York Times, whic referred to research from Hold Security. The firm didn’t reveal the targeted websites.

Hold Security founder Alex Holden did say that the passwords and usernames were gathered from over 420,000 websites. The sites were referred to as being smaller sites as well as “household names.” The criminals didn’t breach any major email providers.

Hackers from Russia and Eastern Europe are known for launching in-depth cyberattacks for financial gain. Beyond spam, organized crime syndicates in have engaged in corporate espionage and the theft of credit-card details.

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