🕵️ Linkedin: 700 million users (92%) concerned by a new stack of emails, phone numbers, and other sensitive data being sold on the dark web.
A massive stack of Linkedin data is for sale on the dark web. It compiles emails, phone numbers, and other sensitive details, including salaries, of over 700 million users.
Data digging is the gold-digging of the 21st century, and Linkedin is one of the tastiest platforms for those who want to take advantage of the more than 200 data points Linkedin has on each user.
On June 22nd, a new offer appeared on the dark web: 700 million Linkedin records for sale. While it is common for these offers to surface quite regularly, the reliability of the data is often inadequate or unsuitable. This time around, it wasn’t.
After buying the stack, the conclusion was that this was not a new privacy breach but a compilation of the data breaches in 2020 and 2021, defining a new trend in privacy breaches compilation: Repackaging multiple scrapping operations.
What was Exposed?
The details exposed contained the full name, emails, phone numbers, industry, Facebook profiles, location, and inferred salary or years of experience.
What can you do?
If you don’t do it regularly, It may be a good time to change your passwords and check whether or not you have a victim of privacy breaches. The website Have I Been Pwned does a good job checking if you did, and… phew! We are safe 😌
But Linkedin is not alone. Facebook Facebook and Clubhouse have also been victims of massive privacy breaches.
There are measures you can take yourself and others taken by companies such as Apple to avoid data exposure across applications.