You may have missed the news, after all it was back in 2012 – but LinkedIn was hacked and what initially seemed to be ‘only’ 6.5 million passwords being compromised now appears to have been a breach of over 100 million passwords – that is a around a quarter of the total LinkedIn membership.
This week LinkedIn acknowledged that these passwords and other information such as emails have been offered up for sale on the ‘dark web’ black market.
Regardless of whether you think your account may have been one of these 117 million you should login to your LinkedIn account right now and do these three things;
1. Change the password. And do not be like many people and reuse the same password as you do for other online accounts. Be sure to check that your email address is up to date so you can be notified if this or other unusual activity happens again.
UPDATE: I just came across this excellent article on LinkedIn by Martin Hiesbeck about how to really easily set an almost uncrackable password that you will never forget and that can be different for every website you need one on. Read the article by clicking here How To Create a 100% Safe Password
2. Whilst you are at it be sure to register your mobile phone and then add something called two-factor authentication, which requires a text message every time you sign in from a new computer.
3. When was the last time you downloaded all your LinkedIn data? This is a good time and reason to do that too. It is easy to do and I outlined the three simple steps in a previous LinkedIn tip which you can read by clicking here.
You have taken the time to build and nurture your LinkedIn network so it makes sense to be a little cautious and protective.
If you have any questions about LinkedIn please let me know in the comments below. I will find the answer for you and maybe even use it in an upcoming tip.
There are 22 key areas on your LinkedIn profile that you can edit and brand to stand out more. In fact a full personally branded LinkedIn profile can increase opportunities by up to 40 times according to LinkedIn. In our free report “5 Steps to Boosting Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn” you can get a head start – click here to access the free report.
Here is what one recipient had to say: “I think it is fantastic and extremely relevant. As you pointed out, my role has changed – but unfortunately, my linked in profile has not. I will be trying to put in place some of the ideas that you have offered.”