Security Alert: 117 Million LinkedIn Logons For Sale

Tripwire’s “State Of Security” blog reports that hackers have stolen over 100 million LinkedIn account credentials and are now in the process of selling them on the Dark Web. Some of the stolen passwords are the same as those stolen in a 2012 breach, but reports say that some are new.

We recommend that you change your LinkedIn passwords immediately.

Now is a good time to review and change all of your passwords since hackers will most likely try to penetrate the related online accounts of their victims. If you are one of those individuals that uses the same password for multiple accounts, then you’re particularly vulnerable—take action immediately!

If you are a reader of our blog, you’ve seen countless articles on password security, creating better passwords, etc. We constantly bring this subject up because weak passwords and passwords used for multiple logon credentials are two of the main ways that hackers use to steal information and identities.

Please heed these warnings:

• Use strong passwords of at least 10 characters with a combination of numbers, upper and lower case letters and special characters.
• Use a unique password for every account. NEVER use the same password for different accounts.
• Use a Password Manager to keep track of all of your credentials and protect it with a super-strong password that you won’t forget (because if you do, you’ll never get into that application again). But, remembering one password is better than trying to remember 10, 20, 100, etc.
• Wherever possible, use two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication not only requires a password, but the application will text a unique code to your cell phone which you’ll have to insert before gaining access to the program. So, in order to penetrate your account, a thief would have to have access to your cell phone in addition to knowing your password before gaining entry—doubling your security.

You can pass this incident off as a “LinkedIn issue” or you can use it as a wake-up call to start becoming more security-minded when it comes to your online accounts and the confidential information they contain—all of which can be used to steal your identity.

Learn to protect yourself and avoid becoming a victim.

 

Joseph Imperato Sr. is the Managing Partner for XSolutions Consulting Services, a Managed Services Provider (MSP) delivering Computer Support, Business Continuity, Cloud Services, and IT Consulting to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut businesses. Call us at (845) 362-9675 and see how we can help your company.