Tether CEO announces server-free password manager after 16 billion data breach

Tether announced plans to launch a serverless, open-source password manager after a massive breach exposed 16 billion online login credentials.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced today that the company is preparing to launch PearPass, a fully local, open-source password manager built without reliance on cloud infrastructure. “The cloud has failed us. Again,” Ardoino said on X, referencing a newly discovered data breach exposing 16 billion login credentials reported yesterday.

PearPass aims to address the growing distrust in centralized data storage by ensuring that all user credentials are stored only on users’ devices, eliminating any external point of failure or surveillance. “Just you — and your keys, stored securely on your devices,” wrote Ardoino.

Ardoino’s announcement follows the exposure of what appears to be the largest data breach ever confirmed. According to a Cybernews investigation, 16 billion records have been uncovered in multiple massive datasets linked to infostealer malware. These logs include login credentials for virtually every major online platform, including Apple, Facebook, Google, GitHub, Telegram, and even government services.

Researchers warned that this data breach isn’t just old data resurfacing. Many of the credentials are recent, complete with tokens, cookies, and metadata. The structure of the records — URLs paired with usernames and passwords — mirrors how modern infostealers collect information, suggesting much of the data was siphoned directly from infected machines.

“This is not just a leak – it’s a blueprint for mass exploitation. With over 16 billion login records exposed, cybercriminals now have unprecedented access to personal credentials that can be used for account takeover, identity theft, and highly targeted phishing,” researchers said.

The good news is that the exposure was brief. The datasets were exposed just long enough for researchers to discover them, but not long enough to identify who was behind them.

However, researchers said that enormous new datasets continue to surface every few weeks.