Yahoo is expected to confirm a massive data breach that has exposed hundreds of millions of user accounts, according to a recode.net report.
Sources close to the situation said that the breach was serious enough that government investigations and legal action are likely, according to Recode.
Yahoo said it was investigating a data breach earlier this summer. Hackers had claimed to have accessed 200 million user accounts — and one hacker claimed to be selling user information online, according to Recode. “It’s as bad as that,” a person close to the situation said. “Worse, really.”
The hack was reported in August when a cybercriminal known as “Peace” claimed to be selling the credentials of 200 million Yahoo users, according to Recode. The data Peace claimed to be selling included user names, birthdates and other email addresses.
Yahoo said it was “aware of the claim,” but wouldn’t say if it was legitimate, Recode reported. The company did not issue a request for users to reset their passwords at the time.
“Now, said sources, Yahoo might have to, although it will be a case of too little, too late,” wrote Kara Swisher for Recode.
The expected announcement of the hack could impact the $4.8 billion sale of Yahoo’s core business to Verizon, Recode reported. While the deal is nearing completion, it still has to be approved by Yahoo shareholders and several regulatory agencies. Shareholders are likely to worry that the breach could cause an adjustment to the price of the sale.
