LinkedIn hack prompts warning for changing website passwords

A group that is dedicated to protect and promote the Internet in New Zealand has urged all 500,000 members of business networking site LinkedIn to change their passwords for the website, and for other online services if they used the same password elsewhere.

The US-based LinkedIn acknowledged that some of its 160 million members' have had their passwords compromised after British security company Sophos found more than six million of the encrypted passwords in a file online.

InternetNZ chief executive Vikram Kumar recommended all members changed their passwords as there was no guarantee that more passwords had not been leaked, Stuff.co.nz reports.

According to the report, John Kendall, a security director at computer company Unisys, also stressed that the 'real danger' was that hackers might try to use people's LinkedIn details to gain access to other services, such as their email or online banking accounts.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn yesterday said that it has launched an investigation into claims that its users' passwords have been stolen and leaked on a Russian computer hacking forum.

LinkedIn boasts over 150 million users who use it to form professional connections and post their CV online.

LinkedIn profiles frequently contain information which members might not want to be made public, such as their contact details and whether they are open to job offers.