After hacking, Yahoo Mail users advised to reset passwords, heed security tips

Following an attack on January 30, Yahoo Mail prompted affected users to reset the passwords of their email accounts.

 

The attack was billed as “coordinated effort to gain unauthorized access to Yahoo Mail accounts.” Yahoo Senior Vice President of Platforms and Personalization Products Jay Rossiter has since stated in the company's official blog that a list of usernames and passwords were likely collected from a compromised third-party database, and that they have “no evidence that they were obtained directly from Yahoo’s systems." 

 

“Our ongoing investigation shows that malicious computer software used the list of usernames and passwords to access Yahoo Mail accounts. The information sought in the attack seems to be names and email addresses from the affected accounts’ most recent sent emails,” he said.

 

Aside from resetting passwords of hacked accounts, Yahoo Mail has also prompted second sign-in verification to “allow users to re-secure their accounts.”

Users may also receive an email notification or a text message asking them to chage their passwords if they have not yet been already prompted.

 

Rossiter also said that Yahoo has implemented additional measures to block attacks against its systems. Yahoo also sought assistance from federal law enforcement to find and prosecute the perpetrators of the attack.

 

Rossiter advised users to adopt better password practices like changing passwords regularly and using different variations of symbols and characters to help keep their accounts secure. He also advised them never to use the same password on multiple sites or services since these make users vulnerable to attacks of this kind.

 

“We regret this has happened and want to assure our users that we take the security of their data very seriously,” he said. — Kim Luces / KDM, GMA News