00:22 GMT, 7 June 2012
Around six million users of the social networking site LinkedIn have had their accounts hacked and their passwords
stolen, according to technology experts. The website, popular with businessmen and women, is investigating claims
that a file containing 6.5million encrypted passwords was published on a Russian hackers’ web forum.
Experts are now advising users to change their passwords on LinkedIn and other websites for which they use the
same password. They also warn that the stolen passwords are probably already in the hands of criminals if the
security breach is genuine.
Graham Cluley, of internet security firm Sophos, said he believed the breach was genuine and warned that the
passwords were now likely to be in the hands of criminals.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2155368-137A7C22000005DC-304_468x311.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2155368-137A7C22000005DC-304_468x311.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
LinkedIn has more than 160million users in 200 countries and nine million in the UK.
Per Thorsheim, the internet security expert who first raised the alarm, said that the number of users who may
have had their passwords stolen is likely to be around 6.5million.
On Tuesday a hacker with the username ‘dwdm’ appealed for help on the Russian hackers’ forum to decrypt the
files and access the original passwords.
By yesterday morning, hackers claimed to have revealed hundreds of thousands of passwords.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=Linkedin_infographic.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/Linkedin_infographic.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Around six million users of the social networking site LinkedIn have had their accounts hacked and their passwords
stolen, according to technology experts. The website, popular with businessmen and women, is investigating claims
that a file containing 6.5million encrypted passwords was published on a Russian hackers’ web forum.
Experts are now advising users to change their passwords on LinkedIn and other websites for which they use the
same password. They also warn that the stolen passwords are probably already in the hands of criminals if the
security breach is genuine.
Graham Cluley, of internet security firm Sophos, said he believed the breach was genuine and warned that the
passwords were now likely to be in the hands of criminals.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2155368-137A7C22000005DC-304_468x311.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2155368-137A7C22000005DC-304_468x311.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
LinkedIn has more than 160million users in 200 countries and nine million in the UK.
Per Thorsheim, the internet security expert who first raised the alarm, said that the number of users who may
have had their passwords stolen is likely to be around 6.5million.
On Tuesday a hacker with the username ‘dwdm’ appealed for help on the Russian hackers’ forum to decrypt the
files and access the original passwords.
By yesterday morning, hackers claimed to have revealed hundreds of thousands of passwords.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=Linkedin_infographic.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/Linkedin_infographic.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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