In what may be one of the largest cybersecurity breaches in history, a massive attack on Yahoo has affected at least 500 million user accounts. According to the company, the hack actually occurred in 2014 after a “state-sponsored actor” (an individual acting on behalf of the government) stole account information (names, passwords, emails, phone numbers, etc.) and answers to some security questions. If you have a Yahoo account, you’ll want to take serious action to ensure that your account information is safe and secured.

6 tips for Yahoo users

1. Change your password IMMEDIATELY...and make it a good one. Though most of us are guilty of using the same password for multiple accounts or picking passwords that are easy to remember, we have to create more secure passwords if we want to avoid hacks like this. A recent attack on Twitter revealed that more than 120,000 people were using “123456” as their password—don’t make this mistake.
2. Change your security questions and answers, too. As we have pointed out in a past blog, pick less obvious questions, and consider making the answer very cryptic, or even false. For example, if you grew up on Elm Street, consider answering that you grew up on Grove Street instead. Consider downloading a password manager to keep track of all questions and passwords- 1Password or LastPass are helpful password managers that store all your information, and only require you to remember one single password to access all your other passwords.
3. Add a second type of authentication. Yahoo has a tool called Yahoo Account Key which sends a confirmation to your mobile phone every time you try to access your account. No one other than you can sign into your account with this tool.
4. Scan for suspicious activity. Yahoo users are urged to look through their accounts to make sure there is no suspicious activity going on. Yahoo recommends starting by looking through your outgoing email folder.
5. NEVER share account information or passwords through email! Be cautious when opening or sending anything via email. You never know who could be behind the screen, so always be vigilant when it comes to email security!
6. When you’re out and about, turn off your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Hackers can easily access your phone and other mobile devices if you keep these features active all the time. Strangers can see what networks you’ve connected to before, mimic the networks’ names, and then trick you into connecting to a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth device that they carry around with them.

If there’s a weak spot in your Yahoo account, a hacker is more likely to find a way to compromise your data—they’re finding new ways all the time.

Reach out to one of our Information Security Specialists for help on securing your accounts and safeguarding yourself from a hack.