Yahoo Data Breach: How To Secure Your Email Account

Are you a Yahoo! Mail user? If you are, we hope you heard about the data breach that Yahoo! revealed a few days ago, saying that information from 500 million accounts were stolen. According to CNN Money, the company said that they were made aware of the breach in August and only made it public lately after they looked into it themselves and found out how big it was.

Yahoo! revealed that a “state-sponsored agent” was behind it and that it happened two years ago in 2014. According to a statement they made, not all personal data was taken from those 500 million accounts, but “may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, date of birth, hashed passwords, and in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.”

How Will You Know If Your Account Was Hacked?

According to another CNN Money report, if your account was one of those victimized, you will likely receive a reminder the next time you log in to change your password. If you do receive one, please don’t ignore it and change your password.

One important thing to remember about passwords is that it should not be one that you use for your other accounts. Having the same passwords will mean that if someone finds out what that single password is, they may be able to hack into your other accounts as well. Be as unique as possible. If you are the type of person who tends to forget passwords, another suggestion is to use a password manager.

Change Your Password and Your Security Questions Often

Online security experts are also suggesting that you change your passwords often. If you do this, however you must learn how to keep track of the changes you made. Again, a password manager would be useful here. Or you can always keep an updated list stashed somewhere.

Do not take security questions for granted. This forms another layer of security for your account. When thinking of security questions, the CNN Money article suggests that they should be easily answered by looking at your Facebook page, Instagram posts and the like. If you are a Yahoo! account holder however, it is best to update or change your security questions.

Two-Step Authentication

Yahoo email accounts have this feature called Yahoo Account Key, but it just needs to be turned on. This allows for a more secure login process by sending a confirmation to a designated mobile number which you must input in order to access your account. This process is used by a lot of online banking systems.