EIGHT million Brits caught up in Yahoo hack – with details stolen from Sky and BT consumers
The information is reportedly being sold online for just 3 bit coins
EIGHT million Brits have been hit in the recent Yahoo hacking, with the breach extending into BT and Sky customers.
The huge figures were revealed by the Information Commissioner's Office, with data regulator Steve Eckersley telling the BBC that the huge numbers were "quite concerning".
The full ramifications of the hack are only just being felt now - although bosses at the Internet giant Yahoo have admitted they had become aware of the 2014 hack two months ago.
But fears have since surfaced that cyber-thieves could have gained access to Sky and BT customers, who are just some of the businesses who outsource their email systems to Yahoo.
Names, email addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, encrypted passwords and unencrypted security questions were snatched in the hack, which occurred in late 2014 but was only confirmed by Yahoo this week.
The company, who reportedly knew of the hack in August, revealed that huge amounts of personal information had been stolen in a "state-sponsored attack".
There have now been calls for Yahoo's boss Marissa Mayer to quit over the hack and delayed handling of the case.
The information is now reportedly being sold on the "dark web" for just 3 bitcoin - around £1,400.
The "treasure trove of secrets" could be used to defraud or blackmail money from Yahoo users or even steal their identities.
Russia has been linked to several recent US hacks. North Korea are also understood to have a large state-sponsored hacking unit.
Expert Alex Holden, the founder of Hold Security, said that the hack might allow criminals access to users' entire lives.
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"The stolen Yahoo data is critical because it not only leads to a single system but to users' connections to their banks, social media profiles, other financial services and users' friends and family," Holden told the New York Times.
"This is one of the biggest breaches of people's privacy and very far reaching."
Norway-based cybersecurity advisor Per Thorsheim warned that the hack "will cause ripples online for years to come".
"The devil has tricked you into thinking your bank account is the most important piece of information on earth. It's not," he told.
"At least not in the case of security and privacy online. I'm more concerned about my Facebook account being hacked than my bank account, to be honest."
The expert said that while bank information and social security numbers hadn't been released, the Yahoo hack had still obtained a 'treasure trove of secrets.'
: "A recent investigation by Yahoo has confirmed that a copy of certain user account information was stolen from the company’s network in late 2014 by what it believes is a state-sponsored actor.
"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."
Verizon, which bought Yahoo for USD$4.83 billion in July 2016, said it had been notified of the massive breach.
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