peshkov/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — In what’s believed to be the biggest-ever theft of data from an email provider, Yahoo revealed Wednesday that hackers stole data from over one billion email accounts.
Yahoo says the theft occurred over three years ago, in August of 2013, and that they were informed of it by law enforcement in November of this year. The data stolen is believed to include not only names, email address and phone numbers, but also security information such as birthdays and other security questions and answers. Passwords may also have been stolen, Yahoo said.
In an email to users Tuesday, Yahoo said they have “taken steps to secure your account and are working closely with law enforcement.”
“The investigation indicates that the stolen information did not include passwords in clear text, payment card data, or bank account information,” the Yahoo email said. “Payment card data and bank account information are not stored in the system we believe was affected.”
Yahoo said they hadn’t yet identified the party or parties responsible for the theft. They also said they’ve “invalidated unencrypted security questions and answers so that they cannot be used to access an account,” and are requiring all users who may have been affected to change their passwords. They’re also encouraging all users to change their passwords and security information.
Yahoo already possessed the dubious distinction of being the victim of what was, until now, the biggest hack of user data in history. Yahoo revealed last September that personal data from some 500 million Yahoo accounts had been compromised.
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