Passwords 'hacked' on LinkedIn

Hoax LinkedIn email

Security expert, Per Thorsheim estimates that 6.5 million users have had their passwords stolen.

Due to this serious security breach, LinkedIn are urging all members to change their passwords immediately.

Vincente Silveira, on behalf on LinkedIn stated: “We want to provide you with an update on this morning’s reports of stolen passwords. We can confirm that some of the passwords that were compromised correspond to LinkedIn accounts. We are continuing to investigate this situation.”

Users with affected accounts will notice that their current password is no longer valid. They will receive an email from LinkedIn, with instructions on how to reset their passwords but there will not be any links within this email. Once this step has been followed and you request password assistance, you will receive an email from LinkedIn with a password reset link. This is so that the recipient can be sure that the email is from LinkedIn and is not a hoax. They will also receive information from customer support, providing more contextual information on the situation.

If you have not requested a password reset link, but you do receive a link in your inbox which appears to be from LinkedIn, do not click on it as it is likely to be a scam.

It has been revealed that the hacker responsible for the LinkedIn password hack also stole 1.5million passwords from the dating site, eHarmony. The emergence of this happening to two different websites should act as a reminder to be safe online, especially with networking sites which are used on a daily basis, in an almost diary-like way, such as Facebook. Users are reminded that they must never input their bank details, address or phone numbers onto social networking sites.

John Byrne, of Junction 21 Executive Travel stated: “I use LinkedIn because it is a professional platform of social media. I would never use their InMail function to try and sell my business, but I may look at who a client knows.”

Regarding how the password hack could affect him, he added: “I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. I’m not too worried about it, even if my password has been stolen, as there is nothing private that I have within LinkedIn which I need to protect. I include nothing financial and only information about my business; and if people want to know about my business, that is great! If I had to close the LinkedIn account, I would. It wouldn’t be a problem.”

The Rochdale Borough Women’s Enterprise Network Group has a LinkedIn account. Andrea Hartley, who runs this group, said: “I have not had chance to let the implications of the password hack sink in yet and I am not wholly sure whether it will affect us and how it could affect us.”

Even if your LinkedIn account has not been affected, it is recommended that you update your password immediately and change it regularly. We also recommend that you change your password regularly for all sites.

Advice  for creating a strong password: 

• Variety – Use different passwords for different websites. 
• Length – Use ten or more characters. 
• Complexity – Randomly add capital letters, punctuation or symbols. 
• Think of a meaningful phrase, song or quote and turn it into a complex password using the first letter of each word. 
• Substitution of letters for numbers that look similar, for example “0” for “o”