In the , users' passwords were to a Russian hacker forum. The incident garnered a lot of headlines, both in the trade and mainstream news media, and LinkedIn was accused of using lax and having nothing more than light encryption to safeguard its users data.

Many companies, including suffer security breaches. What's causing the furor over the LinkedIn breach is that the company makes its name and its money from user data, yet it failed to take what security experts would call adequate steps to secure its bread and butter.

Critics accuse the company of failing to protect its users. Will users stand by their social network or will they flee?

"This is a business site focused on business users who generally don't take well to negligence, particularly when it comes to their passwords and IDs," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. "I think this attack will do lasting damage and open the door for competition. But I don't see a competitive choice positioning against the opportunity though, so LinkedIn may do better than they otherwise would as a result."

While LinkedIn's security lapse could drive users away, users of social networks have proved to be immensely loyal and willing to take hits without leaving their favorite sites.