We are writing to inform you about a data security
issue that may involve your Yahoo account information. We have taken
steps to secure your account and are working closely with law
enforcement.
What Happened?
Law enforcement provided Yahoo in November 2016 with
data files that a third party claimed was Yahoo user data. We analyzed
this data with the assistance of outside forensic experts and found that
it appears to be Yahoo user data. Based on further analysis of this
data by the forensic experts, we believe an unauthorized third party, in
August 2013, stole data associated with a broader set of user accounts,
including yours. We have not been able to identify the intrusion
associated with this theft. We believe this incident is likely distinct
from the incident we disclosed on September 22, 2016.
What Information Was Involved?
The stolen user account information may have included
names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed
passwords (using MD5) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted
security questions and answers. Not all of these data elements may have
been present for your account. The investigation indicates that the
stolen information did not include passwords in clear text, payment card
data, or bank account information. Payment card data and bank account
information are not stored in the system we believe was affected.
What We Are Doing
We are taking action to protect our users:
- We are requiring potentially affected users to change their passwords.
- We invalidated unencrypted security questions and answers so that they cannot be used to access an account.
- We continuously enhance our safeguards and systems that detect and prevent unauthorized access to user accounts.
What You Can Do
We encourage you to follow these security recommendations:
- 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.
Additionally, please consider using Yahoo Account Key,
a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password
on Yahoo altogether.
For More Information
For more information about this issue and our security resources, please visit the Yahoo Security Issues FAQs page available at yahoo.com/security-update.
Protecting your information is important to us and we work continuously to strengthen our defenses.
Sincerely,
Bob Lord
Chief Information Security Officer
Yahoo |
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