The company blames other social networking account breaches for the spam Pinterest has locked an undisclosed number of user accounts as a result of a spam outbreak, the company confirmed in an email on Friday.The accounts, which “were associated with a specific piece of spam,” may have been compromised, Pinterest acknowledged. But the company blamed recent leaks of user log-in credentials from other websites, rather than a data breach of its own.“We suspect this spam may be related to the recent leaks of credentials from other sites, which serves as an important reminder [for users] to have unique logins and passwords” for every site they use, a Pinterest representative said over email.The most public recent incidents of leaked credentials involved LinkedIn and Yahoo. Roughly 6.5 million encrypted LinkedIn account passwords were posted online in early June, and 450,000 log-in credentials from Yahoo and other companies were exposed last week. Pinterest began posting on July 10 advice to users in its help forum about reinstating locked accounts, which was first reported on TechCrunch.On Monday, Pinterest asked users whose accounts had been locked to respond to a survey. The survey has since been removed, but the LLSocial blog noted that it did not include questions about LinkedIn or Yahoo accounts. Rather, it asked about email, Facebook and Twitter accounts and third-party Pinterest apps, according to LLSocial. But Pinterest appears to have gotten the answers it needed. The company is now working on re-activating the accounts in question, it said.Cameron Scott covers search, web services and privacy for The IDG News Service. Follow Cameron on Twitter at CScott_IDG. Related content feature Top cybersecurity M&A deals for 2023 Fears of recession, rising interest rates, mass tech layoffs, and conservative spending trends are likely to make dealmakers cautious, but an ever-increasing need to defend against bigger and faster attacks will likely keep M&A activity steady in By CSO Staff Sep 22, 2023 24 mins Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions brandpost Unmasking ransomware threat clusters: Why it matters to defenders Similar patterns of behavior among ransomware treat groups can help security teams better understand and prepare for attacks By Joan Goodchild Sep 21, 2023 3 mins Cybercrime news analysis China’s offensive cyber operations support “soft power” agenda in Africa Researchers track Chinese cyber espionage intrusions targeting African industrial sectors. By Michael Hill Sep 21, 2023 5 mins Advanced Persistent Threats Cyberattacks Critical Infrastructure brandpost Proactive OT security requires visibility + prevention You cannot protect your operation by simply watching and waiting. It is essential to have a defense-in-depth approach. By Austen Byers Sep 21, 2023 4 mins Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe