LinkedIn Hack and Leak of Passwords
The recent buzz of the net this week is the LinedIn password hack and leak which approximately totals to 6.5 to 8 million of user passwords in the professional social networking site. The number is about 5% of the entire user database of LinkedIn and those percentage is alarming considering that LinkedIn is not just a social site but also a site which offers paid membership.
Although LinkedIn did not confirm the accuracy of the passwords they did confirm that some usernames circulating in the net are existing and valid LinkedIn accounts. The controversy started in a Russian forum where a user boasted of his hacking and decryption of the LinkedIn user database and its algorithm that’s supposed to add extra coat of protection to the sensitive passwords.
It started as a rumor, a rumor which scared millions of users including me for I own a LinkedIn account and mostly conduct networking and freelancing in the career oriented network. LinkedIn has released the following statements:
We are continuing to investigate this situation and here is what we are pursuing as far as next steps for the compromised accounts:
Members that have accounts associated with the compromised passwords will notice that their LinkedIn account password is no longer valid.
These members will also receive an email from LinkedIn with instructions on how to reset their passwords. There will not be any links in these emails. For security reasons, you should never change your password on any website by following a link in an email.
These affected members will receive a second email from our Customer Support team providing a bit more context on this situation and why they are being asked to change their passwords.
The statements of LinkedIn is enough to conclude that the hacking is true and that the best thing to do right now is to change the password of your account and not to login that are not officially associated with LinkedIn.
According to LinkedIn, they have added extra salt to their password hash protection and promises to make LinkedIn safe from hackers.
