Details from 700 million LinkedIn accounts allegedly for sale following data breach
LinkedIn’s second massive data breach of the year reportedly led to account details from 700 million people being up for sale on the dark web.
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Updated June 29, 2021:LinkedIn shared a statement on the alleged breach, “While we’re still investigating this issue, our initial analysis indicates that the dataset includes information scraped from LinkedIn as well as information obtained from other sources. This was not a LinkedIn data breach and our investigation has determined that no private LinkedIn member data was exposed. Scraping data from LinkedIn isa violation of our Terms of Serviceand we are constantly working to ensure our members' privacy is protected.” The original story follows.
What you need to know
Data from 700 million LinkedIn users is now up for sale on the dark web, according to a report byPrivacySharks(viaRestorePrivacy). The personal information comes from a major breach of the social network, the second incident of this kind this year (via9to5Mac). The data breach leaves affected people at risk of phishing attacks, identity theft, and other security-related issues.
RestorePrivacy reports that a hacker advertised data from 700 million LinkedIn users on June 22, 2021. The same hacker also posted a sample of the data from one million people to show its authenticity. RestorePrivacy examined the sample of data and found the following information:
LinkedIn has 756 million members, according to thesocial network’s about page. That means that a data breach of 700 million accounts affects over 92% of its total users.
The data was cross-checked and analyzed by RestorePrivacy, which determined the information to be authentic and up to date. It includes samples from 2020 and 2021.
Passwords were not found in the information from the data breach, but the data that is available still presents security risks. As explained by RestorePrivacy, a bad actor could use the data obtained through the breach to gain access to people’s other accounts.
The hacker that posted the data online says that he obtained the data exploiting an official LinkedIn API.
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Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
