UPDATE: LinkedIn confirms security breach, lays out course of action.
The Verge reports that millions of LinkedIn passwords may have been leaked online:
A user in a Russian forum is claiming to have hacked LinkedIn to the tune of almost 6.5 million account details. The user uploaded 6,458,020 hashed passwords, but no usernames. It’s not clear if they managed to download the usernames, but it’s likely that both have been downloaded. There is a possibility that this could be a hoax, but several people have said on Twitter that they found their real LinkedIn passwords as hashes on the list. Many of the hashes include “linkedin,” which seems to add credence to the claims.
While it could be a hoax, the risk isn’t worth it. Just go change your password and be safe.
via CNET via Lani Rosales
On the lighter side…
I can’t remember my LinkedIn password. So if the hackers would be so kind to send it to me that’d be great.
— Aaron Ortega (@aaronortega) June 6, 2012
Scott Allen is a true social media pioneer, helping turn virtual relationships into real business since 2002. He is coauthor of The Virtual Handshake, the first book on using social media for business, and contributor to over a dozen books on social media, marketing & entrepreneurship. He consults on digital strategy to a limited client base, focusing the rest of his energy on NFN8 Media, a growing network of niche websites.
Don’t forget to also change your email associated with LinkedIn! I got my Yahoo email account hacked a couple of weeks ago, not sure how it happened, but it might’ve been something like this.