Password leaked

Just last week it was revealed that 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords may have been hacked and leaked online.

Many LinkedIn users were advised to change their passwords as a precaution especially if they used the same password for more than one website.

Although the passwords were hashed some reports suggested that the encryption had been cracked for some.
LinkedIn officials said that by the end of Thursday June 7 all passwords on the published the list that LinkedIn thought posed a risk for members had been disabled.

"If your password has not been disabled, based on our investigation, we do not believe your account is at risk," said LinkedIn officials.

LinkedIn contacted members who passwords had been disabled with instructions on how to reset their passwords.

LinkedIn confirmed that compromised passwords were not published with corresponding email logins.

"At the time they were initially published, the vast majority of those passwords remained hashed, i.e. encoded, but unfortunately a subset of the passwords were decoded," said Vincent Silveira, Director at LinkedIn. "We are not aware of any member information being published at any time in connection with the list of stolen passwords. The only information published was the passwords themselves."

LinkedIn has stated that they now have bolstered their security to better protect LinkedIn members.

"We can confirm that all member passwords now are not only hashed, but also salted, to provide an additional layer of security," LinkedIn officials said.

"We are profoundly sorry for this incident. Member security is vitally important to us, and transparency is a priority as well. We will provide further updates as warranted by any new developments."

LinkedIn says they will continue to investigate and will keep their members updated as they upgrade security measures.

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