Yahoo’s 2013 data breach was even worse than previously though, having affected all three billion of its customers, up from the previous one billion accounts the internet company had last disclosed.
After uncovering and disclosing the data breach in December 2016, Yahoo has basically added to the amount of accounts it discovered had been affected by the breach in cyber security, but its parent company Oath, set up by new owner Verizon, had to admit that anyone who had a Yahoo account at the time of the breach was probably affected.
The hack attack against Yahoo had exposed a bevy of user account details, from names and email addresses through to hashed passwords, phone numbers and even birthdays. Yahoo did notify its users to change passwords and take precautions with their account details as it took action to protect their accounts.
However, it was arguably too little to late and the Yahoo hack was in short one of the largest and highest profile data breaches of all time, so much so that Verizon shaved $350 million from the sum it initially offered Yahoo to buy the company.
Despite it coming to light that all of Yahoo’s customers were affected by the breach, Verizon is taking a stiff upper lip approach and Yahoo is continuing to investigate the deeper details of the data breach.
“Verizon is committed to the highest standards of accountability and transparency, and we proactively work to ensure the safety and security of our users and networks in an evolving landscape of online threats,” said Chandra McMahon, chief information security officer at Verizon. “Our investment in Yahoo is allowing that team to continue to take significant steps to enhance their security, as well as benefit from Verizon’s experience and resources.”
Verizon’s commitments in the face of such a large data breach may be commendable, but it’s likely that Yahoo has lost a lot of its customers’ faith and good will, and it’s likely that many may have moved over to other services such as Microsoft’s Outlook and Google’s Gmail.
Related: Verizon buys Yahoo – why it’s a good idea
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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.
