LinkedIn Works With FBI On Password Theft

LinkedIn Corp is working with the FBI as the social network for job seekers and professionals investigates the theft of 6.4 million member passwords, the company said.

The company does not know of any accounts that were taken over as a result of the security violations, according to LinkedIn spokesman Hani Durzy.

A spokeswoman with the FBI declined to comment.

LinkedIn is still in the early stages of the investigation. Durzy said it was not yet determined whether the email addresses that corresponded to the hacked passwords were also stolen.

On Wednesday, LinkedIn confirmed that millions of passwords were stolen.

The company said it would disable passwords that had been compromised and force customers to reset them. The company sent affected members emails explaining how to change their passwords.

Several security experts said that LinkedIn’s stolen passwords had not been adequately secured and that the company did not employ best practices utilised by the world’s largest websites.

When asked to comment on that criticism, Durzy said that LinkedIn had already boosted the security of its database. “We place the highest value on the security of our members’ data,” he said.

The attack on LinkedIn did not last long as the latest in a series of security breaches that could affect sensitive consumer data.

The series of problems underscored the continuing issues with passwords, which are best complex, different for each site and changed every few months.

Major breaches often lead to scam emails and account takeovers, which can be used to convince acquaintances of the target to click on dangerous links that monitor online credit card or bank account use.