Yahoo has confirmed an historically huge data breach, which compromised the account information of more than 500m account holders.
The Verizon-owned firm says the hack, which may be the largest ever recorded, occurred in 2014 and was the result of a “state-sponsored” attack.
The company says usernames, hashed passwords, phone numbers and dates of birth were stolen. Financial information is believed to be unaffected.
Related: Verizon buys Yahoo – why it’s a good idea
In a statement posted on its investor relations site, the firm wrote:
The company says it is notifying users who may be affected by the breach and says the hackers no longer have access to its portals.
Today’s statement comes following reports Yahoo had fallen victim to hackers back in August.
When news emerged of a hacker seeking to sell Yahoo account holders information online for pittance, the company neither confirmed nor denied the breach.
An earlier report from Re/Code on Thursday suggested the US government may seek to investigate the situation. With allegations of state-sponsored cyber crime on such a huge scale, this seems far more likely.
Have you been affected by the breach? Share your thoughts below.
Watch The Refresh: The best tech gossip and reviews every week
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.