LinkedIn blocks accounts after Gawker breach

Business networking site LinkedIn has disabled the accounts of members who use the media website Gawker.com after a major online hack hit that publication.

The move is aimed at preventing LinkedIn accounts from being illegally accessed. It follows a breach on Gawker's site that saw 1.3 million usernames and passwords — along with sensitive information on the company — stolen and dumped for download on torrent site The Pirate Bay.

Victims are at risk of having external accounts such as Twitter and Facebook illegally accessed if they use the same password for these systems as Gawker.com. "In this case our proactive approach identified a small number of LinkedIn member accounts that may be at risk due to the breach on Gawker," said Tara Commerford, LinkedIn spokesperson for Australia and New Zealand. "For those members, we have disabled their LinkedIn accounts temporarily, and we have already sent them emails with instructions on how to go to LinkedIn to reset their passwords."

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see LinkedIn blocks accounts after Gawker on ZDNet Australia.