The Yahoo Data Breach: Are You At Risk?

It has recently been discovered that the Yahoo network was compromised back in 2014, resulting in the breach of over 500 million user accounts. If you have a have a Yahoo account, you should consider yourself at risk and take action immediately.

The first concern is the ability of the thieves to use Yahoo passwords to access other accounts (such as Facebook or workplace networks). It is an unfortunate reality that people like to keep things simple. As a result, it is not uncommon for someone to use the same password (or similar passwords) across many networks. For example, the same person may have a Yahoo password of password, a Gmail password of Password, and a corporate password of P@ssw0rd. You will notice that each password is a little bit stronger, but they are all similar; the attackers know that people do this. So while your corporate password may be very hard to crack because of its complexity, it may be easy for them to guess if they get your personal information from the Yahoo breach.

Another concern about this data breach is the personal information that may be revealed. Your Yahoo account can contain your full name, address, phone number, birthdate and even security questions and answers – all of which can be used to steal your identity or convince you to disclose private or confidential information to an identity thief.

So what can you do if you think your account was breached?  Here are some steps you can take now and going forward to keep your personal information safe:

• Change your password immediately to something complex. (Do this regularly, and never use the same or similar passwords across multiple networks or services.)
• Be wary of any email asking for you to confirm your personal information, even if it is from someone you know or a business you trust. Businesses do not do that via email.
• Get a copy of your credit report and review it for any odd activity or recent changes.
• Never, ever, ever click a link inside of an email that you are not expecting, no matter who sent it.

If you have any questions or are uncertain about what to do next, please contact the James Moore Help Desk at 1-800-455-5676.