Research and retrieval of news articles by:
Bennett Gold LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants

SPECIAL NOTE TO ALL VISITORS:
Effective December 31 2012, articles are no longer being updated on this web site.
The site is now maintained as an historical archive, covering notable e-commerce news articles from the period 1999 to 2012.

LINKEDIN LOOKS TO SOOTHE USERS' PRIVACY CONCERNS

Posted on June 26, 2012

LinkedIn has moved to calm users' privacy and security concerns following a massive data breach that saw 6.5 million hashed passwords published online.

The company said that it is yet to receive any reports of members' accounts being illegally accessed following the breach.

"Thus far, we have no reports of member accounts being breached as a result of the stolen passwords. Based on our investigation, all member passwords that we believe to be at risk have been disabled," readLinkedIn's statement.

The firm also confirmed previous speculation that it was working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate the breach.

"We take this criminal activity very seriously so we are working closely with the FBI as they aggressively pursue the perpetrators of this crime," it said.

The company added that it is working to improve its password security in light of the events.

"[One] of our major initiatives was the transition from a password database system that hashed passwords... to a system that both hashed and salted the passwords," read the statement.

"That transition was completed prior to news of the password theft breaking on Wednesday. We continue to execute on our security roadmap, and we'll be releasing additional enhancements to better protect our members."

News of the data breach broke on 6 June when the stolen LinkedIn passwords were posted by an unnamed individual on a Russian hacker site.

As well as LinkedIn, dating site eHarmony and music sharing site Last.fm have also admitted to data breaches, issuing warnings to users that their accounts may be at risk and urging them to change their passwords.

E-Commerce Alerts are issued by Bennett Gold LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants as situations develop. Bookmark this site and check back often. Our e-mail address is: info@BennettGold.ca

In accordance with United States Code, Title 17, Section 107 and Article 10 of The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, the news clippings on this web site are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.

ALERT
ARCHIVES
Final Entries
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999