Posts Tagged ‘Computer Password Security’

LinkedIn Security Breach Affects User Passwords

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

Don't Type the Obvious

The reports of compromised passwords for social networking site LinkedIn remind us of the importance of password security. A Russian hacker’s website has published more than 6 million passwords for LinkedIn (a social media site for business users to make connections) and 1.5 million passwords for eHarmony (an online dating site). The passwords are encrypted, but the hacker site is inviting other hackers to help decipher them. The company announced that the passwords were not necessarily compromised, but there was a risk. In less than a day of the announcement, hackers had broken more than 60% of the passwords. LinkedIn has announced that it will send e-mails to account holders explaining what has happened and how users can reset their passwords. The e-mails will not include links, which is critical for security as fraudsters have already begun sending out phishing e-mails.

As a precautionary measure, LinkedIn users ought to change their passwords by logging into LinkedIn and clicking their name in the top right hand corner, which opens a small drop-down menu, from which “Settings” appears. Click “Setting” and click “Change” next to “Password”. Enter your current password and create a new one. Be sure to select a strong password, one that cannot be easily guessed. Passwords such as “123456” or “qwerty” or “password” are useless for security purposes. Select a combination of letters (both caps and small letters), numbers and other characters to make the password more difficult to guess. Don’t use the same password for multiple sites as it makes life easier for the hackers. Keep your small business secure by staving off complacency. The news of the hacker attack on LinkedIn offers an opportunity to remind your employees of the importance of computer security.