Yahoo Inc has revealed that information associated with at least 500 million user accounts was stolen from its network in 2014 by what is believes was a “state-sponsored actor”. No further details of the perpetrator have been given. The company says personal data including names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and hashed passwords may have been stolen. The size of this breach and Yahoo’s easy-going response — it has been two years — speaks about the firm’s wobbly status and the need for a rescue plan. As reported here, the planned takeover by Verizon is being questioned.
