• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact
  • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy statement (CA)
    • Cookie policy (CA)
    • Privacy statement (UK)
    • Cookie policy (UK)
    • Privacy statement (US)
    • Cookie Policy (US)
    • Privacy statement (EU)
    • Cookie policy (EU)
    • Disclaimer

TechWalls

Technology News | Gadget Reviews | Tutorials

  • Reviews
  • Tech News
  • Tech Guide
  • Gadget & Apps

Over a hundred million LinkedIn login credentials found sold on black market

Updated on May 19, 2016 by Guest Authors

LinkedIn accounts have always presented temptations to hackers for them to try at any rate to obtain access to those accounts. So it is not surprising at all when it was reported that more than 117 million user login credentials of the social networking site for professionals have been found on sale on the black market.

Security researchers have spotted on a black market maintained by a hacker who likes to call himself or herself Peace the LinkedIn user credentials being sold for five Bitcoins, equivalent to approximately $2,280. If you recall from recent memory, LinkedIn was also hacked in 2012, which resulted in the compromise of more than six million user login details.

linkedin-ad

According to the researchers that discovered the latest LinkedIn breach, data compromised included usernames, email addresses and passwords hashed in SHA1. Overall, there are a total of 167 million accounts being advertised as for sale. The sold data were reportedly stolen by operators of LeakedSource, a data and breach search service. Other security pundits and experts could confirm the legitimacy of the data sold on the black market.

Although LinkedIn nullified the passwords of the breach victims in 2012, the password reset effort seemed futile because the number of compromised accounts shot up from 6 million by the time of the data breach to 117 million at present. The big deal about the breach is that the email addresses and passwords involved are still valid, and so they guarantee sure profit.

Considering that the treasure trove of data belongs to professionals, it would even more attract the interest of bad actors that are after personally identifiable information for business. As a countermeasure, LinkedIn asked its users to change their passwords at once as the company works to invalidate the passwords of the compromised accounts. The social networking site is also certain that the latest breach has not been a result of a new breach, but that it is indeed related to the 2012 data hack.

What we can take as a lesson from this data breach is that despite efforts in the past couple of years to hash and salt passwords in LinkedIn’s database, the security and safety of users have not been completely protected at all.

The company now calls on users to turn on the two-factor authentication security feature of their accounts in order to beef up security. The breach highlights the need to set two step verification as the default setting, instead of being a mere option.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The commission help keep the rest of my content free, so thank you!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sunil Rajbahak says

    Oct 28, 2016 at 4:48 am

    They should have learnt the lesson from the first attack. They did not and they might pay the price. I am going to change my password right away. Thanks for the story!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Hohem iSteady Mobile Plus Gimbal Stabilizer Review – Upgrade Your Phone Videography On A Budget

Airdog X5 Air Purifier Review – Is TPA Better Than HEPA Filter?

Welock Touch43 Fingerprint Smart Lock Review

HeyChy Deep Tissue Massage Gun Review

Follow TechWalls

YoutubeFacebookTwitterInstagram

Recent Posts

  • Secure Your Home With SECURAM
  • C3STROM ASTRO PRO – An E-Bike with Classic Rebel Motorcycle and Modern Ride
  • Bluetti AC500 & B300S Hit Canada Market During 2023 New Year Sale
  • Hohem iSteady Mobile Plus Gimbal Stabilizer Review – Upgrade Your Phone Videography On A Budget

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved

Manage Cookie Consent
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional cookies Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}