Hackers are at it again. Search engine company Yahoo revealed another breach in its network. Dating back to 2013, the latest breach exposed private information of more than 1 billion Yahoo users. This is the latest hacking attempt of the company which could affect Verizon Communications' planned acquisition of the company.
In a post, CISO Bob Lord, attributed the breach to a third party and is believed to be independent from the Yahoo breach announced in September. The latest attack exposed names, emails, and hashed passwords of more than 1 billion users. The latter was hashed using the MD5 algorithm, which could already be easily cracked since 2013.
The 2013 hack is independent but two times bigger than the 2014 hack that Yahoo announced in early 2016. It was considered as the largest ever theft of personal data. Anonymous hackers penetrated Yahoo's network in August 2013 and stole data which includes names, email address, telephone numbers, birthdates and passwords.
With the new attack, the deal that would have Verizon acquire Yahoo's core Internet business for $4.83 billon could be put in jeopardy. Announced in July and expected to be closed by early 2017, Verizon consider the 2014 breach a material event that could alter the terms of the deal. The company said that it will conduct its own investigation and review the impact before making any final conclusion.
Negotiations had long been undergoing between Verizon and Yahoo on the amount of liability the remaining Yahoo company would shoulder for future liabilities related to the 2014 hack. Although the company said that it will not lower the purchase price due to the cost of future liabilities. While both sides had been close to an agreement such was derailed due to the latest and larger breach. Verizon is now again on a "wait and see" approach on the overall effect of the hack on its users and the overall value of the company.
Despite the hack, Verizon considers Yahoo's assets, which includes Yahoo Finance, Sports, and News, still a strategic sense.
