The social network LinkedIn is the latest company making headlines after a security breach compromised 117 million of its users’ accounts. The initial breach occurred in 2012, but it wasn’t until this month that the stolen data was posted for sale on an online hacker forum. If you’re a longtime user of LinkedIn and don’t change your passwords regularly, chances are your account was affected. LinkedIn has responded by forcing password resets on certain accounts, but we suggest checking your email address against the full set of stolen data at https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and changing the passwords to similar accounts - any accounts where the username and password are identical to those used on LinkedIn - immediately.
News of the LinkedIn breech is another unfortunate reminder that one strong password is not enough to keep your personal accounts secure. These days, account breaches are more likely to occur from the back end of a company’s system, bypassing individual password security altogether. That makes it all the more important to use different passwords for each of your online accounts. Security experts, and we at Provident, also recommend changing your passwords frequently - at least once a year. We know it’s hard to keep track of multiple complex passwords, but there are secure and easy-to-use tools that can help. If you have questions about your LinkedIn account’s status, or want to learn more about password security, let us know at support@providenttechnology.com or 215-278-4090.