An Important Message to Yahoo Users on Security
September 22 2016 - 1:28PM
Business Wire
A recent investigation by Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) 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.
Yahoo is notifying potentially affected users and has taken
steps to secure their accounts. These steps include invalidating
unencrypted security questions and answers so that they cannot be
used to access an account and asking potentially affected users to
change their passwords. Yahoo is also recommending that users who
haven’t changed their passwords since 2014 do so.
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. The
company further recommends that users avoid clicking on links or
downloading attachments from suspicious emails and that they be
cautious of unsolicited communications that ask for personal
information. Additionally, Yahoo asks users to consider using Yahoo
Account Key, a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need
to use a password altogether.
Online intrusions and thefts by state-sponsored actors have
become increasingly common across the technology industry. Yahoo
and other companies have launched programs to detect and notify
users when a company strongly suspects that a state-sponsored actor
has targeted an account. Since the inception of Yahoo’s program in
December 2015, independent of the recent investigation,
approximately 10,000 users have received such a notice.
Additional information will be available on the Yahoo Security
Issue FAQs page, https://yahoo.com/security-update, beginning at
11:30 am Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on September 22, 2016.
About Yahoo
Yahoo is a guide to digital information discovery, focused on
informing, connecting, and entertaining through its search,
communications, and digital content products. By creating highly
personalized experiences, Yahoo helps users discover the
information that matters most to them around the world -- on mobile
or desktop. Yahoo connects advertisers with target audiences
through a streamlined advertising technology stack that combines
the power of Yahoo's data, content, and technology. Yahoo is
headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located
throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle
East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the
pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog
(yahoo.tumblr.com).
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 www.sec.gov.
Yahoo!, the Yahoo family of marks, and the associated logos are
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. Other names
are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective
owners.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160922006198/en/
YahooSuzanne Philion, +1
408-349-4040sphilion@yahoo-inc.com
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