Linkedin says it will ask users to change their passwords after a data release that may include the credentials to some 100 million accounts.
The social network announced Wednesday that a newly released dataset claims to include 100 million email and hashed password combinations from a 2012 hack. Linkedin does not believe there has been a new security breach, but the company says it will contact affected users to reset their passwords.
“We are taking immediate steps to invalidate the passwords of the accounts impacted, and we will contact those members to reset their passwords. We have no indication that this is as a result of a new security breach,” wrote Linkedin’s chief information security officer Cory Scott in a blog post.
Scott also recommended users take advantage of other security measures, such as two-step authentication and creating strong passwords, “in order to keep their accounts as safe as possible.”
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