Yahoo have said
that “a state-sponsored actor” has stolen data related to some 500
million user accounts from its network at the end of 2014.
According to a source who spoke with ABC News, the web portal only got to know about the breach “in the last few weeks.”
According to Yahoo, the information
stolen could include names, email addresses, dates of birth, telephone
numbers, password information and also data gotten from the
question-answer combinations for security questions which are used
mostly to change password.
Following reports in late July of a
hacker who had stolen data from the web portal and intended to sell the
credentials for 280 million account users, Yahoo launched internal
investigations, according to an unidentified source.
The source told ABC News that the
investigation initially revealed no “evidence to substantiate the
hacker’s claims,” however, after the scope of the investigation was
widened, the team found traces of a breach that the company believes to
have occurred in 2014.
News of the breach is coming at a time
where Verizon and Yahoo try to conclude an acquisition deal which was
announced on July 25, which would see that Verizon would own Yahoo.
Yahoo released the statement on Thursday, September 22, 2016.
Read the rest of the statement:
By Bob Lord, CISO
A recent investigation by Yahoo has
confirmed that a copy of certain user account information was stolen
from the company’s network in late 2014 by what it believes is a
state-sponsored actor.
The account information may have
included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth,
hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases,
encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.
The ongoing investigation suggests
that stolen information did not include unprotected passwords, payment
card data, or bank account information; payment card data and bank
account information are not stored in the system that the investigation
has found to be affected.
Based on the ongoing investigation,
Yahoo believes that information associated with at least 500 million
user accounts was stolen and the investigation has found no evidence
that the state-sponsored actor is currently in Yahoo’s network. Yahoo is
working closely with law enforcement on this matter.
We are taking action to protect our users:
- We are notifying potentially affected users. The content of the email Yahoo is sending to those users will be available at https://yahooo.com/security-notice-content beginning at 11:30 am (PDT).
- We are asking potentially affected users to promptly change their passwords and adopt alternate means of account verification.
- We invalidated unencrypted security questions and answers so they cannot be used to access an account.
- We are recommending that all users who haven’t changed their passwords since 2014 do so.
- We continue to enhance our systems that detect and prevent unauthorized access to user accounts.
- We are working closely with law enforcement on this matter.
We encourage our users to follow these security recommendations:
- Change your password and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which you used the same or similar information used for your Yahoo account.
- Review your accounts for suspicious activity.
- Be cautious of any unsolicited communications that ask for your personal information or refer you to a web page asking for personal information.
- Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails.
Additionally, please consider using Yahoo Account Key, a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password altogether.
An increasingly connected world has
come with increasingly sophisticated threats. Industry, government and
users are constantly in the crosshairs of adversaries. Through strategic
proactive detection initiatives and active response to unauthorized
access of accounts, Yahoo will continue to strive to stay ahead of these
ever-evolving online threats and to keep our users and our platforms
secure.
For more information about this issue and our security resources, please visit the Yahoo Security Issue FAQs page, https://yahooo.com/security-update, which will be up beginning at 12pm (PDT).
Statements in this press release regarding the findings of Yahoo’s ongoing investigation involve potential risks and uncertainties.
Statements in this press release regarding the findings of Yahoo’s ongoing investigation involve potential risks and uncertainties.
The final conclusions of the
investigation may differ from the findings to date due to various
factors including, but not limited to, the discovery of new or
additional information and other developments that may arise during the
course of the investigation.
More information about potential
risks and uncertainties of security breaches that could affect the
Company’s business and financial results is included under the caption
“Risk Factors” in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 2016, which is on file with the SEC and available
on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov./
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