Do you have an email account with Yahoo? If so, check your emails. Yahoo have reported around 500 million user accounts have been hacked.
So what exactly has happened?
A copy of user account information was stolen from Yahoo systems in 2014 by an alleged state-sponsored actor. This is currently being investigated.
What information has been taken?
They may have got hold of names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords and quite possibly some security questions and answers. It depends how much information you have stored with Yahoo.
Thankfully, it is thought that no payment card data data, unprotected passwords or bank account information has been affected, this is because this is not stored in the Yahoo system.
What to do if you are affected
Promptly change your password if you receive an email from Yahoo, or think your account may have been compromised.
You'll also need to change your account verification as this too to ensure you account is safe.
Yahoo have invalidated unencrypted security questions and answers so hackers cannot access accounts.
If you haven't changed your Yahoo password since 2014, then you are more at risk than others, so it is strongly advised that you do so now
Keep an eye out for suspicious activity and be vigilant for any unsolicited communications that request personal information.
If you don't know the sender of an email with an attachment, DO NOT download it.
You can find out more information about this security breach here.
Comments