More LinkedIn members' information leaked after 2012 security breach
Thursday, 26 May 2016
LinkedIn is warning hackers to stop sharing private information of its members, following another data leak.
More than 100 million members have had their email addresses and encrypted passwords stolen in the latest data breach.
A LinkedIn spokesman would not say how many New Zealand members were affected.
The site has more than 1 million Kiwi members.
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In an email, LinkedIn said additional private information - relating to the 2012 cyber attack - had been leaked online.
In 2012, the business networking site fell victim to a 'unauthorised access and disclosure' breach of some members' passwords.
It believed this month's hack was from the same data set and was not a new security breach or hack.
The accounts at risk were those created before 2012 that had not reset the passwords since that breach.
LinkedIn demanded the hackers stop making stolen password data available, it said.
'We will evaluate potential legal action if they fail to comply.
'In the meantime, we are using automated tools to attempt to identify and block any suspicious activity that might occur on affected accounts.'
LinkedIn said it takes the safety and security of its members' accounts seriously.
As a result, it invalidated passwords of all LinkedIn accounts created prior to the 2012 breach.
'In addition, we are using automated tools to attempt to identify and block any suspicious activity that might occur on LinkedIn accounts.
'We are also actively engaging with law enforcement authorities.'
LinkedIn has taken significant steps to strengthen account security since 2012, it said.
'For example, we now use salted hashes to store passwords and enable additional account security by offering our members the option to use two-step verification.'
The company said it had several teams working to ensure that the information members entrust to LinkedIn remains secure.
'While we do all we can . . . we recommend that you regularly change your LinkedIn password and if you use the same or similar passwords on other online services, we recommend you set new passwords on those accounts as well.'