Yahoo recently revealed that it was victimized by another security breach that compromises the personal data of double the number of users compared to the previous hack that was reported by the company.
In September, an investigation by Yahoo revealed that 500 million users had their account information compromised in late 2014, including their names, contact details, and encrypted security questions and answers. It was said to be the biggest data breach in history, but the new one eclipses it.
The new security breach that Yahoo identified comprises the same information, but this time, for over 1 billion users, with the incident occurring in August 2013. This is at least double the number of users affected in the previously reported hack, placing Yahoo in even hotter water over cybersecurity concerns.
The Latest Yahoo Hack Is Even Worse Than It Looks
The stock price of Yahoo, which has been trading at over $40 per share since Verizon made a $4.8 billion offer to purchase its online operations, dropped by 6 percent as news of the latest security breach circulated.
It has also been reported that the White House has tasked the FBI to launch investigations into the hack, following claims that among the victims of the security breach were over 150,000 employees of the United States government and military, including NSA, CIA, and FBI employees and former diplomats. With cybercriminals in possession of the personal information of these people, they could be trying to break into their personal and work accounts, which would be a national security threat.
Probably one of the more alarming characteristics of the reported data breach is that it took years from the time that the incident happened until it was discovered and reported. There is no telling what the hackers have been able to do with the personal user information that they acquired and if there are several more such security incidents that Yahoo has not yet found out about.
Will Verizon Still Buy Yahoo For $4.8 Billion?
After the first security breach was revealed and in combination with the email scanning scandal that also enveloped Yahoo, it was reported that Verizon was seeking a $1 billion discount on its initial $4.8 billion offer to acquire the company's online operations.
Verizon said that it is still pursuing the purchase despite Yahoo's ongoing security concerns. However, the carrier is now attempting to get Yahoo to change the terms of the initial agreement to incorporate the financial impact caused by the two separate incidents.
The carrier said that it will be reviewing the impact of the latest security breach before making any final conclusions. However, according to sources familiar with the matter, Verizon has threatened that it would go to court to cancel the acquisition if the price of the deal is not lowered.
