Social networking site LinkedIn said Wednesday that it is investigating reports of an alleged hack, which could have compromised the passwords of over six million of its users.
“Our team is currently looking into reports of stolen passwords,” a statement on the company’s Twitter feed read. “Stay tuned for more.”
The report originated from a user on a Russian Web forum, who claimed to have downloaded the passwords of 6,458,020 LinkedIn members. Finish security firm CERT-FI has warned that hackers may have also had access to user email addresses, which are encrypted, according to ZDNet. Another site, SlashGear.com, has said that the hackers are currently “crowd-sourcing” in efforts to bypass the encryptions.
Though the hack has not been officially confirmed by LinkedIn, it affects less than 10% of the site’s 150 million plus users. Still, users have been advised to change their current passwords.