Yahoo is now getting itself ready to confirm to the public a massive data breach that happened back in 2012, according to a report by Recode.
It was reported back in August that the internet company suffered a data leak which led to the sale of 200 million Yahoo accounts on the dark web. Details that were reportedly leaked include usernames, passwords, birth dates, and other email addresses.
Recode sources were not exactly sure about the extent of the breach, but they believe that it is "widespread and serious."
The hacker, who was using a moniker "Peace," was selling people"s account credentials for three Bitcoins, or equal to almost $2000 today. Back then, Yahoo only stated that it was aware of the claim, but had not yet confirmed anything about it. It also did not tell its users to change their passwords. Sources of Recode indicate that doing any sort of announcement today makes it "too little, too late" for it customers.
The matter comes just months before Yahoo officially sells itself to Verizon for $4.83 billion. Marissa Mayer headed the company roughly four years ago, in an attempt to turn the company around as it was facing a decline. However, the company"s collapse persisted, which then eventually led to the sale to Verizon Communications.
At this point, we advise our readers who are not only holders of Yahoo accounts, but of other services as well, to use strong and unique passwords. While issues like this cannot be controlled by the victim, it still pays to be always ready for these types of attacks.
Source: Recode via Business Insider