Yahoo! has released Thursday an official statement confirming the hacking of about 450,000 accounts on Wednesday, July 11, 2012.
“We confirm that an older file from Yahoo! Contributor Network (previously Associated Content) containing approximately 450,000 Yahoo! and other company users names and passwords was compromised,” the company said in the statement.
According to Yahoo!, less than 5% of the total number of accounts had valid passwords. The company said they’re doing everything to ensure the online security of Yahoo! users and their data.
“We are taking immediate action by fixing the vulnerability that led to the disclosure of this data, changing the passwords of the affected Yahoo! users and notifying the companies whose users accounts may have been compromised,” the company stated.
Yahoo! had apologized to all affected users and encouraged them to change their passwords on a regular basis as well as familiarize themselves with online safety tips available at security.yahoo.com.
