500 million LinkedIn profiles' data is being sold on a forum

Is someone auctioning off the email attached to your LinkedIn account?

What you need to know

• 500 million LinkedIn profiles had their data scraped.
• That scraped data is now appearing for sale on a forum.
• You can preview the data for roughly two dollars' worth of forum credit.

As reported by CyberNews (via OnMSFT), 500 million profiles on LinkedIn have had their profiles scraped for data. But that's not the worst of it. The worst part is that the data scraper responsible (if it is, in fact, a single actor) is now selling that data, looking for a four-digit minimum price tag in exchange for the goods.

It's reported that the scraper is selling the info on a forum and is accepting around two dollars' worth of forum credit in exchange for a two-million-profile sized sampling of the data. Pay two bucks, get two million accounts' info. It's a heck of a bargain if you want the benefits of LinkedIn without having to actually set up an account and be a social human being.

This isn't even the first time this week that so many individuals have been left exposed to the ne'er-do-wells of the internet. A few days ago, 533 million compromised Facebook accounts got their info blasted, though the data itself stemmed from a breach dating all the way back to 2019. Still, old data or otherwise, no one likes their personal details going public without their consent.

Whether it be Facebook or Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, let this be a reminder that no data is ever truly safe on the web. For layers of protection, you can try the best Windows 10 password managers or best Windows 10 password generators. But if you want true security, it's best to keep all key data offline and written on physical sticky notes, locked in a safe, and then tossed to the bottom of the Scottish Sea.