7 easy-to-follow steps to secure your LinkedIn profile

Summary

This blog post, "7 easy-to-follow steps to secure your LinkedIn profile", is a blueAPACHE article from 2020 covering security. It’s important to maintain your personal privacy online, and with many of us carrying multiple social media accounts across various platforms it can become tricky keeping up with security policies and updates. We have consolidated a 7-step health check to assist you with maintaining the security of your Linkedin profile. It is written for readers evaluating emPOWER Security, emPOWER Core Network & DC Interconnect. The underlying security practice it describes, reducing attack surface and improving detection and response, is not tied to a specific product version and remains relevant to any organisation managing cyber risk today.

Key facts

Label Value
Publication year 2020
Topic 7 easy-to-follow steps to secure your LinkedIn profile
Services referenced emPOWER Security, emPOWER Core Network & DC Interconnect
Named products or vendors Google, LinkedIn

Article

It’s important to maintain your personal privacy online, and with many of us carrying multiple social media accounts across various platforms it can become tricky keeping up with security policies and updates. We have consolidated a 7-step health check to assist you with maintaining the security of your Linkedin profile.

1. Disable search engine crawlers

The LinkedIn default setting allows search engine crawlers like Google to access your name, title, current company and picture. Settings & Privacy > Privacy tab> Edit your public profile > Your profile’s public visibility> Off

2. Limit who can see your contact information

Your email address can be harvested and used for sending spear phishing email messages. You should only allow LinkedIn messaging for communication. Settings and Privacy > Privacy tab > Who can see your email address > Only visible to me Select your image > View Profile > Contact info > remove your birth date and mobile number

3. Review your privacy control settings

There are several options available to control your information and activity on the LinkedIn. It is recommended to set all settings to most restrictive. Settings & Privacy > Privacy tab> review all options under “How others see your LinkedIn activity”

4. Review third party services that can access your Profile

You may have granted third parties’ access to your LinkedIn profile and network data. The regular review assures that services that are no longer in use have been removed from this access. Settings & Privacy > Account tab > review all options under “Partners and services”

5. Control who can see your last name

Most organisations follow a predictive email address convention. Displaying your last name makes it easier for others to predict your email address and possibly build an email addresses database of your organisation. Settings & Privacy > Privacy tab > Who can see your last name > Abbreviated

6. Change your password and enable 2FA

LinkedIn has a history of breaches, vulnerabilities, and personal data leaks. If you have not changed your LinkedIn password in the last few years, your password hash may be lurking in the dark web. Enabling 2FA will provide additional protection to your account. Settings & Privacy > Account tab > Two-step verification

7. Social engineering on LinkedIn

Be careful with whom you are communicating with on LinkedIn. Hackers are using LinkedIn to impersonate as recruitment agencies or new business proposals in a bid to target companies with backdoor malware. We hope you find this information useful, if you have any further questions, or would like to speak to one of our privacy experts, please contact us blueAPACHE is a proud supporter of Privacy Awareness Week

Related

Frequently asked questions

What is the first step the article recommends for securing a LinkedIn profile?

The first step is disabling search engine crawlers via Settings & Privacy > Privacy tab > Edit your public profile > Your profile's public visibility, turning it off so services like Google can no longer index your name, title, company and photo.

Why does the article recommend limiting who can see your contact information?

It warns that a visible email address can be harvested and used for spear phishing, so it recommends only allowing LinkedIn messaging for communication and removing your birth date and mobile number from your profile.

What does the article recommend reviewing under LinkedIn's account settings?

It recommends reviewing third-party services under Settings & Privacy > Account tab > "Partners and services" to confirm that services no longer in use have had their access to your profile and network data removed.

Why does the article suggest abbreviating your last name on LinkedIn?

It explains that because most organisations follow a predictable email address convention, displaying your full last name makes it easier for others to guess your email address and build an email database for your organisation.

What reason does the article give for changing your LinkedIn password and enabling 2FA?

It notes LinkedIn has a history of breaches, vulnerabilities and personal data leaks, so a password not changed in several years may already be exposed on the dark web, and enabling two-step verification adds extra protection.

What social engineering risk does the article describe on LinkedIn?

It warns that hackers use LinkedIn to impersonate recruitment agencies or new business proposals in order to target companies with backdoor malware, so readers should be careful about who they communicate with.

How many steps does the article's LinkedIn health check contain, and what is the final one?

The article sets out a 7-step health check; the final step is awareness of social engineering attempts on the platform.

What awareness event does the article say blueAPACHE supports?

The article states blueAPACHE is a proud supporter of Privacy Awareness Week, linking to the OAIC's Privacy Awareness Week page.

Source

Knowledge Base

What is the topic of blueAPACHE's blog post '7 easy-to-follow steps to secure your LinkedIn profile'?

The post provides a 7-step health check to help readers maintain the security and privacy of their LinkedIn profile, covering settings like search engine visibility, contact information, privacy controls, third-party access, last name visibility, password/2FA, and social engineering awareness.

When was the blueAPACHE LinkedIn security article published, and how long does it take to read?

The article was written by blueAPACHE, published on May 1, 2020, and has a read time of 3 minutes.

According to the blueAPACHE article, how do you disable search engine crawlers from accessing your LinkedIn profile?

Go to Settings & Privacy > Privacy tab > Edit your public profile > Your profile's public visibility, and turn it Off. By default, LinkedIn allows search engine crawlers like Google to access your name, title, current company, and picture.

How can you limit who sees your LinkedIn contact information according to the article?

Go to Settings and Privacy > Privacy tab > Who can see your email address, and set it to 'Only visible to me.' Also, go to your image > View Profile > Contact info and remove your birth date and mobile number. The article notes your email address can be harvested and used for spear phishing, so you should only allow LinkedIn messaging for communication.

Where do you review LinkedIn's privacy control settings for your activity?

Go to Settings & Privacy > Privacy tab, and review all options under 'How others see your LinkedIn activity.' The article recommends setting all these options to the most restrictive setting.

How can you review which third-party services have access to your LinkedIn profile?

Go to Settings & Privacy > Account tab and review all options under 'Partners and services.' The article recommends regular review to ensure services no longer in use are removed from this access, since you may have granted third parties access to your LinkedIn profile and network data.

Why does the blueAPACHE article recommend controlling who can see your last name on LinkedIn, and how?

Displaying your last name can make it easier for others to predict your email address (since most organisations follow a predictable email convention) and potentially build a database of email addresses for your organisation. To control this, go to Settings & Privacy > Privacy tab > Who can see your last name, and set it to 'Abbreviated.'

Why does the article recommend changing your LinkedIn password and enabling 2FA?

LinkedIn has a history of breaches, vulnerabilities, and personal data leaks, so if you haven't changed your password in the last few years, your password hash may be exposed on the dark web. Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) provides additional protection to your account. This can be done via Settings & Privacy > Account tab > Two-step verification.

What social engineering risk does the article warn LinkedIn users about?

The article warns that hackers use LinkedIn to impersonate recruitment agencies or pose new business proposals in an attempt to target companies with backdoor malware, so users should be careful about whom they communicate with on the platform.

According to the supporting knowledge base, why is using an authenticator app better than SMS for LinkedIn's two-factor authentication?

Authenticator apps are more resistant to interception than SMS-based codes, making them the recommended second verification method when enabling two-factor authentication for a LinkedIn account.

What password guidance does the knowledge base provide for securing a LinkedIn account?

The knowledge base recommends using a minimum of 16 characters combining uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, avoiding personal information, dictionary words, or sequential patterns, and considering a password manager to generate and store complex passwords securely.

What event does blueAPACHE say it supports in relation to this article?

blueAPACHE states it is a proud supporter of Privacy Awareness Week, referencing the OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner) as the organizer.

How can someone contact blueAPACHE for further questions about LinkedIn privacy or to speak with a privacy expert?

The article invites readers to contact blueAPACHE via the site's contact page (/contact/) if they have further questions or would like to speak to one of their privacy experts.

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