LINE: 4,225 accounts logged into by others and used to post spam and phishing links

1. 2020-02-13

   User reports revealed posts that the account owners had not made. [1]

2. 2020-02-19

   From this day to the 24th the company put several technical measures in place against the logins. [1] [3]

3. 2020-02-24

   Users identified as affected were asked to change their passwords. [1] [4]

4. 2020-02-26

   Public disclosure. [1] [2]

{n:4225} accounts were logged into: 4,073 in Japan, 81 in Taiwan, 2 in Thailand and 69 elsewhere. Messages and timeline posts from them carried shopping spam and links to phishing sites that asked for the LINE password and SMS code. [1] [2]

The number of accounts fully taken over through the phishing was still under investigation at the time of disclosure. [3]

The company urged users not to open suspicious links, even from friends, and not to answer messages asking them to confirm their password. [2] [1]