Yahoo! Reports Theft of Information from 500 Million Users

Yahoo! released a statement today confirming an information theft “associated with at least 500 million user accounts.” The company also reported that that the “information was stolen from the company’s network in late 2014” attributing the theft to a “state-sponsored actor.”

There was nothing in the statement to indicate why the breach was only being reported now but an Associated Press account noted that the timing could cause problems with the proposed $4.8 billion sale of Yahoo! to Verizon Communication

According to AP, Scott Vernick, a data security attorney, says that Verizon will at the very least need time to assess the situation. “This is going to slow things down, Vernick said, “A buyer needs to understand the cybersecurity strengths and weaknesses of its target these days.”