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Yahoo Attack 2014

Cybercriminals use advanced technology to illegally hack digital systems and commit crimes like online fraud, spreading viruses, and hacking. A notable cyberattack was in 2014 when Russian agents hired Aleksey Belan, a Latvian hacker, to hack Yahoo and access over 500 million user accounts by phishing Yahoo employees. This attack had major consequences for Yahoo, including a $4.83 billion loss in its internet business sale to Verizon. Users should be vigilant about their online accounts and use security measures like multi-factor authentication to protect against data breaches.

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80 views3 pages

Yahoo Attack 2014

Cybercriminals use advanced technology to illegally hack digital systems and commit crimes like online fraud, spreading viruses, and hacking. A notable cyberattack was in 2014 when Russian agents hired Aleksey Belan, a Latvian hacker, to hack Yahoo and access over 500 million user accounts by phishing Yahoo employees. This attack had major consequences for Yahoo, including a $4.83 billion loss in its internet business sale to Verizon. Users should be vigilant about their online accounts and use security measures like multi-factor authentication to protect against data breaches.

Uploaded by

Simon
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Cybercriminals are individuals that use advanced technology to hack and infiltrate digital

systems with malicious and conduct illegal activities (Technopedia, 2011). These illegal

activities include online fraud and scamming, attacks on computer systems by planting viruses,

and hacking. With the continuous advancements in technology and the increased usage and

dependence on the internet by people, cybercrime is on the rise with cybercriminals taking

advantage of any vulnerabilities and loopholes of security systems on the internet.

There have been several notable cybercrime attacks and one of the most notable

cybercriminals attacks was the attack on yahoo in 2014 (Volz, 2016). The cybercriminal

mastermind was identified as Aleksey Belan, a Latvian hacker that had been hired by Russian

agents. The hacker managed to hack into Yahoo and access Yahoo’s User Database through

phishing that was targeted at Yahoo’s employees. The cyber-attack stole information associated

with more than five hundred million accounts. The attack began when spear-phishing emails

were sent to Yahoo’s employees and all it took was one mistaken click for the hacker to gain

access to Yahoo’s network. The hacker then installed a backdoor on Yahoo’s servers that would

allow him not to lose access to the network (Williams, 2016). The attack was so clinical that it

was not until late 2016 that the hack became apparent to the investigations and Yahoo went

public with details and advised millions of users to change their passwords.

The attack had major consequences for yahoo losing $4.83 billion in cash sales of its

internet business with Verizon Communications Inc. Yahoo’s stock prices dropped and it lost

more than $1.3 billion in market capitalization (Volz, 2016). Yahoo’s image was tarnished by

being accused of failing to disclose information on the security breach in the early stages to the

public and investors.


With cybercrime on the rise, users should remain vigilant when handling online accounts

and be wary of clicking links that might look suspicious. The use of multi-factor authentication

systems that are available can also protect users from a data breach (Simple Insight, n.d). Online

users are also advised to use complex passwords and use different passwords for different

accounts.
References

Simple Insights. (n.d.). How to help protect yourself from data breaches. State

Farm. https://www.statefarm.com/simple-insights/residence/how-to-help-protect-

yourself-from-data-breaches

Technopedia. (2011, October 10). What is Cybercriminal? - Definition from Techopedia.

Techopedia.com. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27435/cybercriminal

Volz, D. (2016, September 22). Yahoo says hackers stole data from 500 million accounts in

2014. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yahoo-cyber-idUSKCN11S16P

Williams, M. (2017, March 15). Inside the Russian hack of Yahoo: How they did it. Network

World. https://www.networkworld.com/article/3181484/inside-the-russian-hack-of-

yahoo-how-they-did-it.html

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