If you have a Yahoo account, it’s time to change your password.
We mean it. If you have a Yahoo email address, click out of this article for a moment and change your password. Go do it. Go on. Get. We’ll be here when you get back…
…
…
…
…
OK.
Yahoo have announced that an attack on its network in 2014 accessed the date of at least 500 million users and could have been ‘state sponsored.’
“Based on the ongoing investigation, Yahoo believes that information associated with at least 500 million user accounts was stolen,” explained a statement from the US internet giant.
Users’ names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, passwords and security questions for verifying an account holder’s identity were all caught up in the data breach.
Having the answers to the security questions would make it fairly easy for hackers to bypass forms and reset on-site passwords for users.
The sheer number of accounts that could have been affected make the hack one of the largest data breaches on record, and will inevitably add to the already growing fears many people have about storing their personal information online.
It’s being blamed on ‘a state-sponsored actor’.
“Yahoo is working closely with law enforcement on this matter,” the company said, and advised people to change their passwords immediately.
Do it.
