'One billion' affected by Yahoo hack
- 1 hour ago
- Business
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Yahoo has said more than one billion user accounts may have been affected in a hacking attack dating back to 2013.
Yahoo said names, phone numbers, passwords and email addresses were stolen, but not bank and payment data.
The company, which is being taken over by Verizon, said it is working closely with the police and authorities.
When Yahoo disclosed in September the 2014 data breach, the company said information had been "stolen by what we believe is a state-sponsored actor". Yahoo did not say which country it held responsible.
That breach included swathes of personal information, including names and emails, as well as "unencrypted security questions and answers".
The hack took place in 2014, and Yahoo has come under pressure to disclose why it took so long for the breach to be made public.
The new breach raises fresh questions about Verizon's $4.8n proposed acquisition of Yahoo, and whether the US mobile carrier will try to modify or abandon its bid.
If the hacks cause a user backlash against Yahoo, the company's services would not be as valuable to Verizon.
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In a statement, Verizon said that it would evaluate the situation as Yahoo investigates and would review the "new development before reaching any final conclusions".
Yahoo said on Wednesday that users should change their passwords and security questions.
The company said in a statement: "Yahoo believes an unauthorized third party, in August 2013, stole data associated with more than one billion user accounts."
Yahoo said this case "is likely distinct from the incident the company disclosed on September 22, 2016".
However, the latest breach was uncovered as part of continuing investigations by authorities and security experts into the previous hack, Yahoo said.
It is a further embarrassment to a company that was once one of the biggest names of the internet but which has failed to keep up with rising stars such as Google and Facebook.
Yahoo's valuation hit $125bn during the dot-com boom, but it has been losing ground since then despite several attempts to revive its fortunes
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