6.4m LinkedIn passwords stolen

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE

LinkedIn is investigating reports that approximately 6.4 million user passwords have been posted on the Web. While the breach is still unconfirmed by LinkedIn, they have acknowledged on their Twitter feed that their investigations have begun.

Carl Leonard, Senior Security Manager, Websense Security Labs said, “The alleged hacking of 6.4 million LinkedIn passwords has again highlighted the need for people and organisations to think hard about data loss prevention. Websense Security Labs advises people and organisations to change passwords ASAP and make sure your passwords are different for every site. If immediate action isn’t taken you might inadvertently hand over the keys to your professional reputation and invite malicious online activity to your network.”

He added, “The compromise of a LinkedIn account has three important ramifications. First, the key concern is the bad actors taking advantage of trust. If you are ‘linked’ to a trusted colleague you are more likely to click on a malicious link sent from them, which may open the door to targeted attacks and confidential data theft. Second, because many LinkedIn accounts are tied to other social media services, such as Facebook or Twitter, posts with malicious links can also be propagated to a larger audience. And lastly, many of us are creatures of habit and have the same password for multiple accounts. The consequences of a breached password could be extrapolated across email, social media, banking accounts, and mobile phone data.”

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