Russian hackers said to loot 1.2 bn internet records

US security company says it's the largest known cache of stolen personal information

A gang of hackers in Russia has amassed 1.2 billion sets of looted user names and passwords, according to a US security company that said it's the largest known cache of stolen personal information.

The pilfered records, associated with about 500 million unique e-mail addresses, were discovered by Hold Security LLC, a Milwaukee-based company that sells information-security and risk-management services. The findings were based on seven months of research, though the company didn't give a time period for the theft or name any websites that were hacked.

While Hold said it's the largest known cache of stolen personal information, not all the records were current and the company couldn't say if financial accounts were linked. Also, user names and passwords are less valuable than credit-card data and Social Security numbers, said Peter Toren, a partner in the Washington-based law firm Weisbrod, Matteis & Copley Plc.

"People should step back and question what kind of accounts are we talking about," Toren, who served as an attorney for the US Department of Justice's computer crime and intellectual property section from 1992 to 1999, said in a telephone interview. "Do I really care if they find out what kind of music I listen to?"