Linkedin is working with the FBI to find password thief

RED-FACED BUSINESS NETWORKING web site Linkedin is working with law enforcement authorities in its hunt to find out who was behind its massive password leak.

It might want to start with the person that decided not to salt the passwords, but judging by a report at Reuters it is more interested in looking externally and has recruited help.

Reuters reports that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is taking notes and names over the security breach, information that was neither confirmed nor denied by Linkedin.

"We are actively working with law enforcement, which is investigating this matter," said a spokesperson when asked about the Reuters report. A similar statement, "We are also actively working with law enforcement, which is investigating this matter" appears in the firm's blog post on its investigations so far.

Linkedin might be enjoying big traffic at the moment, thanks to the high number of its members visiting with the intention of changing their passwords, but the leak is an embarrassing one.

Perhaps worse, if not in terms of the number of affected users, is the passwords leak from dating site Eharmony, a place where stored information might be considered personally sensitive.

Last.fm was the third web site to have come forward and confessed to having passwords stolen, but more could follow. µ