LinkedIn tweeted this afternoon that the firm had yet to confirm that any breach occurred in its security. Earlier today we reported that the company’s social network had been infiltrated and 6.5 million passwords had been compromised. The tweet was posted by the company under 30 minutes ago.
The firm tweeted about two hours ago that its team was looking into the allegations that user’s security had been compromised. It appears they are still trying to ascertain the veracity of that claim and their security team is working hard to find, and if found fix, the issue.
Our team continues to investigate, but at this time, we’re still unable to confirm that any security breach has occurred. Stay tuned here.
— LinkedIn (@LinkedIn) June 6, 2012
The company is facing two security issues today, the first that they admittedly sent user data unencrypted from the social network’s iPhone app, and the second the leak of the passwords that was revealed this morning. The first is actively being solved by the company and has been overshadowed by the password problem.
The fact that the claim has not yet been verified means it could have been a hoax perpetrated to provoke publicity or it could simply mean the firm has not yet been able to verify the claims. If it is a hoax the firm will have to prove it thoroughly before claiming it as such. That could be the reason for the large delay in an official announcement on the status of the leak.
On the news of security issues earlier today the firm’s stock had fallen slightly. It is down just over 0.7% at time of writing as investors wait to see if the security threat is in fact a real problem.
In the wake of an infamous offering by Facebook it is not a good time for a social networking site to display vulnerabilities. Tech companies have already pushed back IPOs based on Facebook’s effect. If the market sees LinkedIn as weak on security the effect could be amplified in the current market.
