Expert: Yahoo Users Should Take Data Breach Seriously

Security experts call the Yahoo breach “massive.” The company confirmed on Thursday that more than 500 million of its users accounts had been stolen in a breach believed to have occurred in late 2014.

“The account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers,” Yahoo said in a statement.

Idaho Falls security experts says the hack is one of the largest and it is time for Yahoo users to take action.

“Be aware,” Dale Handy, a retired Intel Security Expert said. “The bad guys probably have a pretty good portfolio on you.”

The information obtained in the Yahoo hack may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers, according to a statement from Yahoo.

“One of the problems we have is people use the same password everywhere. Half the people, they figure, use the same password on every site,” Handy said.

Handy urges users to change their password and security questions.

“You might use a phrase like ‘I like green 75 apples’. Something like that. Some that is quirky, not a standard phrase like something you’d find in a book,” Handy said. “A lot of these things are things you can look up with Google. I can look you up and I can probably figure out what your Grandma’s maiden name is, so put in something like blue angel rather than Grandma Nielson.”

While protecting your accounts and online footprint is important, Handy says to check your smart TV’s. They are a good access point for hackers because they are connected to your network.

“When you buy a TV you probably never going to get a software update and after a while the bad guys realize there are holes in this brand of TV that I can exploit,” Handy said.

Another tip from our security expert is to check your credit card or debit card for one or two dollar charges. Handy says it could be a hacker checking to see if they have access to a valid credit card.

Yahoo officials say they are working with the FBI to find whoever is behind the attack.