At least 500 million user account details were hacked in 2014, Yahoo announced the shocking number and revealed the follow about the hacking:
1. User information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, encrypted passwords, birth dates and security questions were stolen.
2. The information was taken from the company’s network in late 2014 by what was believed to be a state-sponsored hacking group, and Yahoo only found out about it recently.
3. Yahoo is notifying users who may have been affected and advises anyone who has not changed their password in the last two years to do so.
4. Yahoo is investigating the breach with law enforcement but believes that credit card or bank details were not included in the stolen data.
5. The company has also invalidated affected users’ security questions so that they can’t be used to access accounts.
6. “Yahoo encourages users to review their online accounts for suspicious activity and to change their password and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which they use the same or similar information used for their Yahoo account.” – Yahoo.
7. Verizon spokesman, Bob Varettoni, states that his company learned of the breach of Yahoo’s systems only two days ago and had “limited information and understanding of the impact.”
8. US Senator Mark Warner, once a worker in the tech industry and often speaks on it, described the hacking as “huge”.
9. Yahoo has been criticised for its slow response to the breach by security researcher, Kurt Baumgartner from Kaspersky Lab.
10. Users should treat all data they receive online with suspicion, especially if they prompt the users to click any links, download any attachments or give out any personal information.
