Monday, Oct 5, 2009    Text size: 

According to online reports, a security breach has compromised the passwords of more than 10,000 Hotmail accounts, most of them based in Europe.

Tech professionals should note that the hack originated from a site called PasteBin.com, where programmers post and share sections of code they've written. The hacker didn't use any code from PasteBin to steal the accounts. The hacker only pasted the information there.

Although most of the accounts are in Europe, the names posted all start with A and B. The compromised list includes email addresses ending in @hotmail.com, @msn.com and @live.com.

Although Microsoft has yet to issue a formal statement, they did speak with the BBC about the breach.

"We're actively investigating the situation and will take appropriate steps as rapidly as possible," a Microsoft representative said.

Tech analyst Don Resiniger said that experts are still trying to determine whether the breach was an accident or a planned event.

"Whether the passwords were leaked is still in question," he said. "That said, Twitter and other social networks are abuzz with people advising others to change their passwords."