Yahoo Says Information on at Least 500 Million User Accounts Was Stolen

From “Yahoo Says Information on at Least 500 Million User Accounts Was Stolen”
Wall Street Journal (09/23/16) McMillan, Robert. Posted by ASIS.

Yahoo Inc. reported Thursday that hackers backed by an unnamed foreign government had stolen personal information from more than 500 million of its users’ accounts. Hackers penetrated Yahoo’s network in late 2014 and stole personal data on more than 500 million users. The stolen data included names, email addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers, and encrypted passwords, Yahoo said. Yahoo said it believes that the hackers are no longer in its corporate network. The company said it did not believe that unprotected passwords, payment-card data, or bank-account information had been affected. In July, Yahoo began investigating claims by hackers who were offering to sell what they said were 280 million Yahoo usernames and passwords. Yahoo said it concluded the information for sale was not legitimate, but the company decided to broaden its probe, eventually determining that it had been breached by “a state-sponsored actor.” Yahoo did not say how the hackers broke into its network or which country sponsored the attacks. The intrusion, in 2014, came during a period when many computer attacks were believed to be the work of China. More recent hacks, however, including of the Democratic National Committee earlier this year, have been blamed on Russia. Both countries have denied involvement in the hacks. The Yahoo breach appears to be the largest ever disclosed, based on the number of users affected, said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy with Privacy Rights Clearing House.