i heard there has been a data breach of apple id passwords, is this true and should i change my apple id password?

dan from the west nmsol wrote:

I just read there has been a massive data breach, including apple id passwords, is this true?

Background

There have been data breaches recently, yes. There have been breaches historically, too. And there will be new breaches.

Yes, there’s some recent reporting about a collection of databases of credentials reportedly acquired from some malware. Who was collecting all that data is unclear.

Apple accounts are in wide use, so some Apple Accounts will be involved in most any breach.

Amusingly, some of the breach-related reporting — particularly “There was no way to effectively compare the data between different datasets” — is just silly. Yeah, it’s reportedly a lot of credentials data. But modern computers are good at processing lots of data.

For those breaches that are known and with data that has been made available, https://haveibeenpwned.com can be a useful resource. I’d expect this most recent reported breach will be included in that database soonest too, as (if) the breach data becomes available and the comparisons are performed.

What should you do?

Your own Mac has personalized password recommendations / security suggestions directly from Apple, in the Passwords app. Review them.

Use unique and robust passwords, and use passkeys, and use two-factor authentication.

With these practices, password breaches are between your use of the breached service, and the service itself.

If you suspect any of your passwords have been compromised, change them.

If you have been re-using passwords, or don’t have two-factor authentication enabled, change that, too.

More info: Better Securing Your Data, and Apple Account - Apple Community

If you have even the slightest doubt …

Change your Apple Account password - Apple Support