LinkedIn password theft: FBI step in to help

LinkedIn, on their blog, updated that passwords were leaked yesterday. The post says:

Yesterday we learned that approximately 6.5 million hashed LinkedIn passwords were posted on a hacker site. Most of the passwords on the list appear to remain hashed and hard to decode, but unfortunately a small subset of the hashed passwords was decoded and published.

To the best of our knowledge, no email logins associated with the passwords have been published, nor have we received any verified reports of unauthorized access to any member’s account as a result of this event.

The blogpost also mentions that the company is working closely with the FBI on the case.

LinkedIn’s blogpost is busy warning users about security measures regarding passwords. The basics remain pretty much the same, change your password every six months, don’t use the same password for different sites, add special characters, numbers to it etc…

It seems after the attack the company has also doubled up security on how its storing user passwords. LinkedIn’s blog assures users that their passwords have been ‘salted’ as well as hashed. Hashed is a common form of storing passwords for web applications. But salting makes it doubly harder for hackers to crack into a database. For more on salting click here.

Source: FirstPost

Prateek Panda

Prateek is the Founder of TheTechPanda. He's passionate about technology startups and entrepreneurship and enjoys speaking to new founders every day. Prateek has also been consistently regarded as one of the top marketing experts in the region.

Recent Posts

Can you trust AI with your fundraising secrets?

A founder’s guide to data privacy in the age of GenAI AI has shifted from…

1 day ago

Can India be a South Asian tech titan in the making?

India has been embracing technology at a high rate. The world has expectations from the…

2 days ago

Building tomorrow’s offices: Blending aesthetics with automation, sensors & sustainability

In a world where the lines between physical and digital experiences are increasingly blurred, the…

2 days ago

For medical research & doctors AI has been a good team player

No matter what other controversy Artificial Intelligence (AI) might be getting into, AI has been…

3 days ago

UTI Mutual Fund warns against fake app & WhatsApp scams

The UTI Mutual Fund has said that it has observed that some groups, individuals, handles…

3 days ago

Starlink Satellites go to India: IN-SPACe grants authorization to Starlink Satellite Communications Pvt Ltd

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has granted authorization to M/s Starlink Satellite…

3 days ago