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Microsoft Privacy Security Social Networks

LinkedIn Warns 9.5 Million Lynda Users About Database Breach (neowin.net) 35

Less than four weeks after Microsoft formally acquired LinkedIn for $26 billion, there's been a database breach. An anonymous reader writes: LinkedIn is sending emails to 9.5 million users of Lynda.com, its online learning subsidiary, warning the users of a database breach by "an unauthorized third party". The affected database included contact information for at least some of the users. An email to customers says "while we have no evidence that your specific account was accessed or that any data has been made publicly available, we wanted to notify you as a precautionary measure." Ironically, the breach comes less than a month after Russia blocked access to LinkedIn over privacy concerns.
LinkedIn has also reset the passwords for 55,000 Lynda.com accounts (though apparently many of its users don't have accounts with passwords).
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LinkedIn Warns 9.5 Million Lynda Users About Database Breach

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  • Ha ha ha ha (Score:5, Funny)

    by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Sunday December 18, 2016 @03:08PM (#53509293) Journal

    LinkedIn: Don't blame us, Microsoft is in charge now.

    Microsoft: Don't blame us, we just own the company.

  • by OffTheLip ( 636691 ) on Sunday December 18, 2016 @03:16PM (#53509357)
    actually accepted the lynda offer? Wow!
    • My boss wanted me to sign up for it. Then I saw it needed a credit card. Then I checked their online reviews for billing practices and saw the scam.

      I told him "You want to give me a company credit card, go ahead. But I'm not compromising mine."

  • by MikeDataLink ( 536925 ) on Sunday December 18, 2016 @03:29PM (#53509427) Homepage Journal

    Lots of Lynda customers are businesses who use Federated Services logins.

  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday December 18, 2016 @03:32PM (#53509453)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • This is not due to the buyer. Lynda had shitty DB hashing and shitty network security. A company buying another does not magically endow the bought company with some sort of new properties.

  • > Less then four weeks after Microsoft

    You'd think someone posting an article, especially with "Editor" in their name, would know how to use 'then' and 'than' properly. Seriously, people, it's not that hard.

    • Your making silly arguments.

    • > Less then four weeks after Microsoft

      You'd think someone posting an article, especially with "Editor" in their name, would know how to use 'then' and 'than' properly. Seriously, people, it's not that hard.

      And thank Gawd that you posted the most important thing on the internet this year by pointing this out!

      Otherwise you would have been the only person who noticed.

      • by shmlco ( 594907 )

        Not the only one, no. Just a little time spent learning proper English grammar can go a long way towards disguising a lack of formal education.

        • Not the only one, no. Just a little time spent learning proper English grammar can go a long way towards disguising a lack of formal education.

          Let's diagram sentences!

  • I wonder (Score:4, Interesting)

    by buss_error ( 142273 ) on Sunday December 18, 2016 @03:33PM (#53509459) Homepage Journal

    If anyone would notice that their data from Linked In leaked. I mean, LinkedIn is such a data mining fanatic, it'd be hard to tell the difference between their normal spamming and spyware and someone else using that same data.

    • I wonder if this applies to Lynda accounts not accessed though Linkedin? Just the same, I changed my password - probably a futile gesture but I'm rather getting used to that feeling.

  • 9.5 million (Score:5, Funny)

    by frovingslosh ( 582462 ) on Sunday December 18, 2016 @04:48PM (#53509867)
    "Amateurs" - Yahoo
  • Think they mean "coincidentally".
  • This is what, the 5th major compromise of LinkedIn's data in the past 2 or 3 years? How are there still people that haven't dumped their accounts? Why is LinkedIn still considered the main business social network?
    • by Anonymous Coward

      Because in certain areas of life, like software development and consulting, if you aren't on LinkedIn, you might as well not exist.
      (And I say that as someone who hates LinkedIn and social networks in general.)

  • by modmans2ndcoming ( 929661 ) on Sunday December 18, 2016 @11:01PM (#53511665)

    This is crazy. There are best practices that need to be followed for datasets. We need an agency (similar yo what the FCC does) setup to set legal requirements for data systems that hold US resident's information, such as Hashing technologies to use, network security technologies, etc.

    Additionally we need a law that says all companies that allow US residents to create accounts need to provide a verifiable method for people to delete their data stored on their servers (Accounts, contact information, billing information, etc)

"The vast majority of successful major crimes against property are perpetrated by individuals abusing positions of trust." -- Lawrence Dalzell

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