How to Protect Your LinkedIn Account from Hackers

Have you been hacked on LinkedIn or know someone who has?

If you have invested over a decade into building your online presence, from your profile to your content and network, you want to ensure it is as protected as it can be.

I was recently contacted by a colleague who's LinkedIn profile had been hacked. Direct messages were sent to all her connections with an attachment about an opportunity, including to me. It sounded legit and was written in friendly language but something didn't feel right when I received it.

My connection got in touch to ask what to do as she could no longer log into her account and was having calls and emails from people who had received it asking what it was about and checking if she had actually sent it.

Your best form of online protection online is your gut instinct.

If something feels wrong, trust that. Avoid clicking on links and opening attachments, and get in touch with the person it came from. You may decide to reply to the message but keep in mind that if the individual was hacked, the message will go to whoever is controlling the account. Instead, go old-school and pick up the phone, send an email, or even use a different network.

When I checked this person's account the email address listed in her Contact Info wasn't her business address or one that looked like it belonged to her, so I wasn't going to use that address. The hackers had changed the login details and contact info to make it impossible for her to regain access and reset the password.

By gaining access to the account they can not only access all the data, connections and even any Pages or Groups that are managed by her but they can also act as the person by posting and engaging as them individually or as the Page, which can damage her personal brand or her organisation's brand.

It can happen to anyone, even a LinkedIn expert! I was hacked a while back and had a few random comments show up on my account overnight. Because I closely monitor my activity I spotted them and was able to act quickly. As a result, I fixed a gap in my own profile security which I recommend you also fix.

What can be done if you have been hacked?

In the recent case, the individual happened to be the admin of a Page, but thankfully she had a social media manager on the Page too, so I recommended that she ask to be removed as admin to protect the Page. I also recommended she ask a few colleagues to report her account. This resulted in her profile going offline pretty fast while it was sorted. Then LinkedIn can help her regain access which is currently underway.

It is inconvenient not having access to your account. When I was hacked, nothing changed other than some unusual activity, thankfully I still had full access to my account but not everyone is that lucky. You can lose so much if you aren't careful.

How can you protect your LinkedIn account from hackers?

Don't wait until you are hacked, make changes to your account now. Adopt good digital hygiene and habits. Clean up and protect yourself now to keep your profile and digital assets safe.

Always think before acting;

• Don’t accept connection requests that could be duplicates or fakes – trust your instincts
• Don’t click on dodgy links in messages – trust your instincts
• If something doesn’t feel right, go to the person - trust your instincts.

Manage your account settings;

• Turn on 2 step verification

• Use unique password phrases containing capitals, numbers and symbols
• Update your password at least every 3-6 months
• Review the permitted services that are authorised to access your account

• Ensure you have an alternate email address as a backup. If you work for an organisation, always have a personal email as a log in backup.
• Add your phone number in account settings

• Check your active sessions and sign out of any that aren't being used by you
• Check which devices remember your password and potentially remove them

• Back up your account by downloading your data periodically

• If you have a Page, always have a backup admin and remove old admins.
• Have a process for managing Page admins

• If you have a Group have a process to manage the Owner and Managers

Trust your instincts, and use your head when it comes to online security. Protect the assets you have built over time by upskilling and maintaining good security and backup habits.

Should you need help or guidance, get in touch. Book a training session for your team in -person or via Zoom to develop good LinkedIn habits.

Take advantage of my special offer to review your LinkedIn set-up and ask your specific questions. Drop me an email: [email protected] to organise your training or review.

Let me know in the comments below if you are interested in a LinkedIn privacy webinar.