Hacker Leaks LinkedIn Database Containing 35 Million User Records

Recently, a hacker going by the alias USDoD leaked a LinkedIn database containing the personal information of over 35 million users on the cybercrime forum Breach Forums. The hacker is believed to be the same person who previously leaked the InfraGard and Twitter databases. Last year, the hacker infiltrated the FBI security platform InfraGard and leaked the personal details of 87,000 of its members.

Analysis of the LinkedIn database leaked by the hacker revealed that it primarily contains publicly visible personal profile information from LinkedIn, including full names and biographies, as well as millions of email addresses. The good news is that the leaked data does not contain passwords.

The screenshots below show that some of the leaked email addresses belong to high-ranking government officials and institutions in the United States. Additionally, email addresses from government agencies around the world were also found.

Troy Hunt, the founder of HaveIBeenPwned, analyzed over 50 million accounts in the database and concluded that it contains information from a variety of sources, such as public LinkedIn profiles, spoofed email addresses, and others. Hunt emphasized that while some of the data may be fabricated, the individuals, companies, domains, and many email addresses are real.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that a public LinkedIn database has been leaked online. In April 2021, hackers scraped and offered two LinkedIn databases for sale, containing 500 million and 827 million records, respectively. In June 2021, another hacker sold a LinkedIn database containing the data of 700 million users.

Via: hackread