If you are a fond user of LINE, then we might have a bad news for you: it is now a high time for you to change your password. According to a report by AFP yesterday, Japanese police is currently investigating a string of unauthorized access within the popular messaging service that apparently happened between late May and 14 June.
The total confirmed case is said to be at least 303 cases with three of them involving unspecified amount of financial loses. Exact details regarding those cases are still scarce especially since they are under investigation by police but nevertheless, LINE is urging all users to change their passwords even though this incident is currently isolated to Japan according to the company’s knowledge.
Meanwhile, LINE has responded with an official statement to media members, published in full as below:
LINE prioritises user privacy protection and stable service support as our top priority, as we continue to offer the most dynamic services that can be trusted anywhere around the world.
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Some cases have shown that personal information retrieved from other weakly-protected sources may be misused on LINE for unauthorized access, if the user keeps the same log-in ID and password for multiple services.
As LINE becomes more popular around the world, LINE would like to remind users to protect their personal information by using individualized password for LINE and changing it on a regular basis. It is also important for users to not disclose their IDs publicly.
In addition, users can choose the setting ‘Reject Message’ to stop receiving messages from unknown contacts and block or report contacts that send spam messages or links with malware. Users should also take extra caution with the content or links received from unknown contacts.
Nothing out of ordinary in the statement there but still, it is now time to get into action. Get your password for LINE sort out, to avoid any difficulties in the near future.
[Source: AFP via Yahoo News]
