Hotmail blocks access to compromised accounts

Hotmail has taken the step of blocking access to accounts compromised in the recent phishing attack which saw users' details posted online.On Monday Microsoft urged Hotmail account holders to change their passwords after it was revealed that hackers had made off with over 10,000 account passwords.They've now gone one step further, requiring users to verify their identities before changing their login details.“[As] a result of our investigation we are taking measures to block access to all of the accounts that were exposed and have resources in place to help those users reclaim their accounts” Microsoft announced on a blog post yesterday.“If you believe your information was documented on the illegal list, please fill out the following form to reclaim access to your account.”“Over the weekend Microsoft learned that several thousand Windows Live Hotmail customers’ credentials were exposed on a third-party site due to a likely phishing scheme. Upon learning of the issue, we immediately requested that the credentials be removed and launched an investigation to determine the impact to customers. As part of that investigation, we determined that this was not a breach of internal Microsoft data and initiated our standard process of working to help customers regain control of their accounts.”“If you believe you’ve been a victim of a phishing scheme, it’s very important that you update your account information and change your password as soon as possible. More information on what to do is available on this page at our support community.”It has also been reported that both Google and Yahoo account holders may have fallen victim to a similar phishing attack.