Yahoo Hacked

Yahoo has confirmed 2014 hacking where information of about 500 million of its users were stolen.

00:00 24 September 2016

Yahoo has recently confirmed that hackers stole data from 500 million accounts in 2014.  The breach included swathes of personal information, including names and emails, as well as “unencrypted security questions and answers”. Yahoo said that the attack was carried out by “what we believe is a state-sponsored actor".

 

In August, a hacker known as “Peace” was apparently attempting to sell information on 200 million Yahoo accounts fuelling news of a possible attack on the technology firm.

 

On Thursday, Yahoo confirmed the attack adding that it was far bigger than first thought. The company has urged users to change their password especially if they haven’t done so since 2014.

 

Yahoo was sold to US telecoms giant Verizon for $4.8bn in July. Verizon said that it had learned of the hack “within the last two days” and said it had “limited information.”

 

It added: “Until then, we are not in position to further comment.”

 

Nikki Parker, vice-president at security company Covata, said: "Yahoo is likely to come under intense scrutiny from regulators, the media and public and rightly so. Corporations can't shy away from data breaches and they must hold their hands up and show that they are committed to resolving the problem."

 

She added: "Let's hope the ink is dry on the contract with Verizon."