Popular professional networking site LinkedIn has launched a new feature aimed at making connections more easily, but the technology raises concerns it could open the door to security breaches.
The new feature called "Intro" creates mini profiles of LinkedIn users' email contacts based on information found on their main LinkedIn profile. As a result, when a contact sends you an email, a small profile of the user's professional history appears in it.
The service, which launched last week, allows users to quickly view a person’s job title, education history, online connections and past employment history without leaving their email.
LinkedIn says the opt-in service is meant to add a more professional context to emails, but security experts say the new app puts user’s private data at risk.
In a recent blog post, independent computer security analyst Graham Cluley said he is wary of LinkedIn’s latest networking feature.
“To give them credit, from the engineering point of view [Intro] is pretty nifty. But from the security and privacy point of view it sends a shiver down my spine,” he wrote.
In order for “Intro” to work, all user emails must pass through LinkedIn servers, where critics argue the website’s history of significant cyber-security breaches should be cause for concern.
Last year, a Russian hacker claimed he had hacked LinkedIn servers and uploaded more than 6-million encrypted passwords as proof. Last month, the company was named in a class-action lawsuit by users who said it was improperly accessing their data.
Security experts say the new system is a “dream come true for hackers” and the relatively simple format is easy for hackers to copy for phishing and fraud purposes.
“I’m not suggesting that it has created LinkedIn Intro with any malicious intentions, but clearly security is not part of the company’s DNA – and that troubles me,” says Cluley.
LinkedIn has defended the security of its new app, saying that its servers have "the most secure implementation we believed possible" and promises that it has explored every possible avenue of attack.
CTV tech expert Mark Saltzman says recent media attention on Edward Snowden and the surveillance activities of NSA have made people more aware of online security and the need to protect their information online.
“We already know that our online communications are being monitored to some extent, so already there is a hot climate for this and people are concerned. The concerns are privacy and security,” Saltzman told CTV’s Canada AM Thursday.
Saltzman warns that, as with any other social media site, people should remain cautious with the kind of information they give out. He adds that users should be aware of the kinds of services they sign up for and not opt-in to features without researching them first.
