Recent reports claim that a second data breach at Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has exposed the personal data of 700 million users, which is more than 92 percent of the platform’s total 756 million users.
9to5Mac reports that a second LinkedIn data breach has reportedly exposed the data of 700 million users and the database is currently for sale on the dark web. The user information reportedly includes phone numbers, physical addresses, geolocation data, and inferred salaries.
The hacker who obtained the data posted a sample of 1 million records and checks confirm that the data is both genuine and up-to-date. It was reported by RestorePrivacy that the hacker appears to have exploited the official LinkedIn API to download the. The same method was used in a similar breach in April.
RestorePrivacy reports:
On June 22nd, a user of a popular hacker advertised data from 700 Million LinkedIn users for sale. The user of the forum posted up a sample of the data that includes 1 million LinkedIn users. We examined the sample and found it to contain the following information:
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Email Addresses
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Full names
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Phone numbers
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Physical addresses
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Geolocation records
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LinkedIn username and profile URL
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Personal and professional experience/background
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Genders
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Other social media accounts and usernames
Based on our analysis and cross-checking data from the sample with other publicly available information, it appears all data is authentic and tied to real users. Additionally, the data does appear to be up to date, with samples from 2020 to 2021.
No passwords are included but the data is still valuable as it can be used to assist in identity theft attacks and convincing phishing attempts that can be used to obtain login credentials for both LinkedIn and various other sites. The company has yet to respond to a request for comment by 9to5Mac on the latest breach.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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