LinkedIn: 700 million records stolen - over 90 percent of users affected

Another big data breach on business network LinkedIn!

Data from nearly 500 million LinkedIn users appeared on the Internet in early April ( BILD reported), now it’s happened again: 700 million user data sets are currently being offered for sale in a hacker forum. This suits over 90 percent of all LinkedIn users! The network currently has approximately 756 million members.

The data was tapped using a process known as scraping. User information was collected automatically through a programming interface. Including name, email address and telephone number. According to preliminary findings, passwords for accounts are not involved in the data leak. It stems from a test package of one million user data that the vendor has placed in hacker forums.

Records can be used for identity theft

In a statement to the website “ Privacy SharkA LinkedIn spokesperson said: “Our preliminary analysis shows that the data set includes both information collected by LinkedIn and other sources. This was not a LinkedIn data leak, and our research found that none of the users’ personal data could be accessed. Scraping is against our Terms of Use and we are working relentlessly to protect the privacy of our members.”

However: even without a password, this data set can be used for massive phishing attacks and identity theft, among other things.

are you worried?

It is not yet known whether this new data package is partly the same data that was revealed in April. In any case, you should check whether your data is also part of the mess.

That’s not yet possible for the current data set, but security experts at “Cybernews” already have 500 million user data available for the glitch in April. Website Set up on which customers can check whether they are affected or not. To do this, you’ll need to enter a registration address on LinkedIn, then you can see if that address is part of the data it’s got now.

If your e-mail address is affected, you should check all affected services (where the same e-mail or mobile phone number is stored) to ensure suspicious activity is protected. IMPORTANT FOR ALL SERVICES AND WEBSITES: Each login must have its own strong password. For services that support it, two-factor authentication must be enabled. In this way, you can prevent the loss of data from causing further harm to the provider.