Millions of LinkedIn users were advised to change their passwords earlier this week. The 2012 hack of the profession networking site may be bigger than initially thought following a hacker's attempt to sell login credentials of more than 117 million users.
The 2012 LinkedIn Hack
Earlier this week, Huffington reported that LinkedIn was hacked, cracking most encrypted passwords of its users. According to Motherboard's Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, a hacker going by the name "Peace" was trying to sell email and passwords for 117 million LinkedIn users stolen in 2012, USA TODAY added.
"It appears that more had been taken then, and just posted now," spokesman Hani Durzy said. "We are still determining how many of these are still active and accurate since the data would be about four years old now," Bloomberg reported.
In 2012, LinkedIn tried to reset the passwords of everyone that may be affected by the breach, which comes to an estimate of 6.5 million users. With the latest developments, though, LinkedIn realized that the hack had actually affected around 100 million more users than previously believed.
Hackers are selling 117 million LinkedIn passwords -- you'll want to change yours to be safe https://t.co/q4rzQzSsXE pic.twitter.com/WapDHIfBY7
— CNN (@CNN) May 20, 2016
Protecting Your Account
In a blog post on its website, LinkedIn acknowledges the breach and assures everyone that security measures are being done. More so, members of the profession networking site were sent an email saying the same message and advising them to change their passwords.
USA Today recommends that social media users should change passwords frequently. It is advised not to use the same passwords for every account. In a breach as massive as this, hackers may have a database of all email addresses and passwords, which could turn out to be the same in all of your accounts.
Also, be aware of phishing emails, often appearing to be an announcement of a big hack so users can click the dangerous links. Lastly, use second-authentication for greater security. This means that your account is linked to your cell phone and if someone attempts to change your passwords or log in to your account, a second authentication is needed. A numerical code is usually sent to your phone.
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