DATING SITE EHARMONY has confirmed that some of its members’ passwords have been compromised, just hours after millions of LinkedIn users’ details were breached.
eHarmony said that a “small fraction of our user base has been affected” and that it has reset the passwords of affected members, who will receive and email on how to procede.
Ars Technica reports that the eHarmony passwords were posted online in a similar fashion to the LinkedIn details – around 8 million in total by a hacker called ‘dwdm’.
According to PC World eHarmony’s passwords are ‘hashed’, but can be solved using the correct software. It’s also reported that the information was not ‘salted’, which makes them easier to decode.
LinkedIn has said that recent security updates mean that its current password databases are now hashed and salted. It also says that affected users will have their passwords reset, and will receive emails with further details.
It’s also reported that hackers have been seeking help in cracking the passwords, with Ars Technica referring to it as a ‘sport’.
It’s advised that passwords for both LinkedIn and eHarmony should be changed immediately, and if the same password is used for a different site, that should be changed too.
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