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117 million LinkedIn user passwords exposed in 2012 hack

LinkedIn thanked the FBI Wednesday for the agency's efforts in tracking down a hacker suspected of compromising the company's user information. Above, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner in 2014.
LinkedIn thanked the FBI Wednesday for the agency’s efforts in tracking down a hacker suspected of compromising the company’s user information. Above, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner in 2014.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
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LinkedIn says a 2012 breach resulted in more than 100 million of its users’ passwords being compromised — vastly more than previously thought.

The business social network confirmed Wednesday a purported hacker’s claim that 117 million passwords were stolen in the breach. It previously said 6.5 million user passwords were compromised.

According to a Forbes report, the hacker was trying to sell the passwords on the so-called dark Web for 5 bitcoin, or about $2,200.

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LinkedIn said it was working to determine just how many of the passwords in question were still being used three years after the breach and was in the process of resetting them.

The Mountain View, Calif., company emphasized that there was no indication of a new data breach.

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LinkedIn has 400 million members around the world.

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