Tag: Yahoo

Yahoo agreed to pay US$ 85 million after data breaches in 2013 and 2014

24. October 2018

As part of a court settlement filed Monday, Yahoo agreed to pay $50 million in damages and to provide two-years of free credit monitoring for services to 200 million people.

Around 3 billion Yahoo accounts were hacked in 2013 and 2014 but the company, which is now owned by Verizon, did not disclose the breach until 2016. Affected are U.S. and Israel residents and small businesses with Yahoo accounts at any time from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2016. Apart from usernames and email addresses, millions of birthdates and security questions and answers were stolen. Not among the stolen information were passwords, credit card numbers and bank account information.

According to the settlement, the fund will compensate accountholders who paid for email services, who had out-of-pocket losses or who already have credit monitoring services. A refund of $25 per hour will be made for the time spent handling issues caused by the breach. Those with documented losses can ask for up to 15 hours of lost time ($375) whereas those who cannot document losses can ask for up to 5 hours ($125).

A hearing to approve the preliminary settlement is scheduled for November 29.

The Article 29 Working Party put a bad light on Yahoo and WhatsApp

31. October 2016

The IAPP reported, that the Article 29 Working Party issued a warning concerning possible violations of European data protection regulations in form of a letter to both Yahoo and Whatsapp.

Both companies have been topic of public debate due to the way they handle the personal data of users. The concerns of the Article 29 Working Party regarding WhatsApp are that the company shares data with Facebook. Whereas, the objections towards Yahoo are raised due to both data breaches in 2014 and due to the allegation that the company scans incoming user emails for U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Therefore, the Article 29 Working Party requests that both companies provide more information on the problems. It can not be ruled out that investigations are launched and fines are imposed.

Data breach might cost Yahoo $1billion

11. October 2016

The New York Post published that Verizon, which is about to purchase Yahoo for $4.8 billion, is now asking Yahoo for a $1 billion discount.

This is due to the fact that Yahoo announced only two weeks ago that it had been hacked two years ago and that at this time usernames and passwords for 500 million accounts were stolen. Furthermore, it was revealed that Yahoo had been ordered by a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to investigate emails for terrorist signatures under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but not under section 702.

According to the New York Post, a source said that AOL CEO, Tim Armstrong, “is getting cold feet” due to the “lack of disclosure” and therefore he is asking “Can we get out of this or can we reduce the price?”

 

Category: Data Breach · USA
Tags: , ,