Yahoo has announced that the account information of at least 500 million users was stolen by hackers two years ago.
In a statement, Yahoo said user information — including names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, passwords, and in some cases security questions — was compromised in 2014 by what it believed was a "state-sponsored actor." It did not name the country involved.
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Yahoo confirms massive data breach
Yahoo just admitted it fell victim to a massive data breach that has exposed 500 million user accounts in 2014.
"This is the biggest data breach ever," said well-known cryptologist Bruce Schneier, speaking to Reuters.
Yahoo said it was working with law enforcement officials. It encouraged users to review their online accounts for suspicious activity and to watch out for suspicious emails.
But Hold Security founder Alex Holden told The New York Times the incident could have far-reaching consequences for users beyond Yahoo's services.
"The stolen Yahoo data is critical because it not only leads to a single system but to users' connections to their banks, social media profiles, other financial services and users' friends and family,", he said.
Hold has been tracking the flow of stolen Yahoo credentials on the underground web.
"This is one of the biggest breaches of people's privacy and very far reaching", said Holden.
The announcement of the breach comes as US telco Verizon Communications moves forward with its $US4.8 billion ($6.3 billion) acquisition of Yahoo's core business. It is unclear what, if any, effect the breach will have on Yahoo's sale price. That will most likely depend on what Verizon learns about Yahoo's security controls.
Agencies
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