LinkedIn: 6.5 Million Passwords Hacked?

by InvestorPlace Staff | June 6, 2012 4:00 pm

linkedin_logo_200x100 IPO[1]LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD[2]) likes to say it’s the place for people to conduct business online. But is it safe? According to CNNMoney[3], Russian hackers stole 6.5 million passwords from the professional social networking site. They even posted the passwords on the Web!

Funny enough, many of the passwords include “linkedin.” Others favorite words include “linkedout,” “recruiter” and “toprecruiter.”

What does LinkedIn have to say? It’s looking into the issue but has not confirmed anything.

No doubt, this really makes matters worse. Did LinkedIn get hacked and not even realize it? It’s probable, considering the company uses an older, less-secure approach to data encryption called SHA-1.

For users, the best thing to do is go to LinkedIn and change your password. In fact, it’s a good habit to do this frequently anyways.

Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/linkedin_logo_200x100.jpg
  2. LNKD: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=LNKD
  3. CNNMoney: http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/06/technology/linkedin-password-hack/index.htm

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/06/linkedin-6-5-million-passwords-hacked/