LinkedIn Hacking Campaign Allegedly Underway | #hacking | #cybersecurity | #infosec | #comptia | #pentest | #hacker

Cybersecurity analysts have revealed a major hacking campaign targeting LinkedIn accounts, with many users locked out of their accounts indefinitely.

Researchers at Cyberint discovered the alleged trend in hacked LinkedIn accounts, which they claim is targeting individuals across the globe.

According to Cyberint, the team identified a “notable increase” in reports and conversations of hacked LinkedIn accounts on social media, and with many users complaining to LinkedIn’s Help services about hacked accounts.

Further, search queries about hacked LinkedIn accounts have skyrocketed, they claimed.

Analysts found two different attack methods consistently employed by the threat actors.

First, was a temporary account lock, which results from an unsuccessful hacking attempt. In these instances, the targeted account is not necessarily compromised as suspicious activity was detected, prompting the temporary account lock.

Threat actors could have tried a number of methods to cause this, from credential stuffing to breaching accounts with two-factor authentication. Account users in this case are notified by LinkedIn to change their passwords to log into their accounts.

In the second method, however, users are unable to independently recover their accounts.

Threat actors follow a specific process, according to Cyberint, to ensure the accounts cannot be restored.

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To do this, they first successfully gain access to an account and then change the email of the account, potential generated using rambler.ru., a mail system. After they change the email address, they then modify the password, effectively preventing the victim from restoring their account via email.

“Some victims have received ransom messages (typically requesting a few tens of dollars) to regain access, while others have witnessed their accounts being deleted outright,” Cyberint’s report said, which they based on alleged victim’s complains to LinkedIn Help accounts. 

Cyberint has also provided some recommendations to ensure your accounts are safe and to mitigate the changes of them being compromised.

First, they recommend checking that you still have access to your LinkedIn account, and then check your email to see if LinkedIn has contacted you regarding your account.

Employing a strong password, and not reusing passwords, can decrease the chances of the account being hacked.

Two-step verification can also protect your account from being fully compromised.

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