More than One Billion Yahoo Accounts Have Been Hacked

Back in September 2016, it was revealed that more than 500 million Yahoo accounts were breached according to a report by Yahoo itself.

And now, another news comes from Yahoo that around over 1 billion accounts have been hacked which supposedly happened as part of a breach back in August 2013.

How the Hack was Discovered

Yahoo’s Chief Information Security Officer, Bob Lord says that the law enforcement provided them with data that a third party claimed was a based on a Yahoo user. The data was analyzed with the help of forensic experts and it was indeed established that it originated from Yahoo.

Upon further analysis, it was revealed that an unauthorized party, in August 2013, stole data from more than one billion accounts. Bob says they have still not been able to identify the intrusion associated with this theft. They believe that this incident is likely distinct from the incident which was disclosed on September 2016.

According to him, the stolen user account data may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, hashed passwords (using MD5) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.

Bob Lord further explains that the unauthorized third party had access to the company’s proprietary code and learned how to forge cookies. These forged cookies allowed the intruder to access users’ accounts without a password.

“We are notifying the affected account holders, and have invalidated the forged cookies. We have connected some of this activity to the same state-sponsored actor believed to be responsible for the data theft the company disclosed on September 2016”.

What Yahoo is Doing to Protect its Users

They claim that they have notified the potentially affected users and have taken steps to secure their accounts, including requiring the users to change their passwords. They say that they also have invalidated unencrypted security questions and answers so that they can no longer be used to access a user’s account.

They invalidated the forged cookies as well and hardened their systems to make it more secure against similar attacks.

“We continuously enhance our safeguards and systems that detect and prevent unauthorized access to user accounts.”

Moreover, Yahoo has also guided their users with security steps to make their accounts safer.

From its blog:

  • Visit our Safety Center page for recommendations on how to stay secure online.
  • Change your passwords and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which you used the same or similar information used for your Yahoo account.
  • Review all of your accounts for suspicious activity.
  • Be cautious of any unsolicited communications that ask for your personal information or refer you to a web page asking for personal information.
  • Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails.
  • Consider using Yahoo Account Key, a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password on Yahoo altogether.
  • Visit the Yahoo Security Issue FAQs page.

Via TechCrunch


  • Why Yahoo is still around? Why don’t they just accept the fact that they don’t belong in this world anymore and close down the operations or even sell them to anyone.They are far behind in innovation which is a key to success in present business model

    • Do you work for the company that is #1 in it’s field? No? Then why don’t you follow your own advices and close down?

      I would LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE to know what innovations you have personally brought to this world.

            • Exactly. I wouldn’t even have commented in the first place if your statement was ‘ why so sour bro’ because it wasnt anything but … funny.

              I don’t know but I still have that nagging feeling in my mind that that wasn’t the comment you posted originally ^^ But hell, chado jee. You are right in your own way as per your statement towards Shahid.

              • That’s the thing. I edited my own comment just to check this but no ‘edited’ being shown beneath them. Neither I have seen somebody else’s comments with edited label. Atleast not to me lol.

      • ???

        Who’s sour? The person who thinks it should be shut down or me who points out his lack of rational thinking?

        Try to keep up, pindi boy.

        • “BUT Mannan just shared his thoughts from his own perspective.”

          Well see that is the problem. His perspective is all wrong. After all not all opinions are good ones. And I certainly do not have to respect every single opinion I come across. Clearly you do not do that either so why ask me to?

          “but yes it is also true a company that size just cannot vanish, which is what you’re stating.”

          I didn’t say anything of that sort. Cogitate smarter not harder, Pindi Boy.

  • Don’t worry guys, we all are already doomed by our govt and other organizations which are controlled by NSA, CIA etc.
    Our all the activities been monitored by them, and if you want to keep some secret then keep it in you in your mind and memories. stop using online forums/Whatsapp/FB, cause there is nothing which can’t be breaked :)
    China using Its phones to keep tracking us, USA using socials medias and other programs.
    Privacy is a Hoax :D

  • one billion yahoo accounts have been hacked so far, it is really a big number… is it not a failure of yahoo??? what protection is giving the yahoo to its customers…. i think the majority emails are hacked by the friends, family members or one who knows us well… because above is written that the majority emails hacked on security questions and answer….


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