Around 3 billion Yahoo accounts were hacked in 2013 by state-sponsored attackers, stealing private data of users. Almost six years after the attack was confirmed, Yahoo reached a settlement of $117.5 million from the class-action lawsuit.
The data breach happened multiple times and in varying degrees in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Yahoo confirmed the news in 2017 when it found out that massive account users’ data were compromised.
The breach was divided into three major breaches. The first one happened in 2013 when personal information of 3 billion Yahoo Mail users was exposed. It was followed in 2014 when an employee was caught in a phishing attack that led to the exposure of more than 500 million accounts. Then finally, in 2015 and 2016, hackers were able to gain access to 32 million accounts. The hackers make use of cookies to get into the system until gaining access.
In July this year, the federal judge has signed off the settlement agreement between Yahoo and the account holders affected by the breach. Top Class Actions reports that Yahoo initially offers $50 million settlement but was declined by the accountholders. The company came with a new offer and settlement terms in April, until the negotiation was signed.
In addition to the $117 million settlement, the company also pledged to inject money into ‘significant financial investment’ to improve security, backup files and enhance intrusion system or tools. Moreover, the company also needs to set aside $300 million budget for the next four years for its 200 employees.
Users’ Rights for Settlement
The amount of money an affected user can get for settlement depends on the number of people opting for the money. Because the settlement is only worth $117 million, users who demand money need to equally divide the amount to the number of people affected.
Yahoo said in a statement, “Payment for such a claim may be less than $100 or more (up to $358.80) depending on how many Settlement Class Members participate in the settlement.”
Meanwhile, Yahoo is also offering free two-year credit-monitoring services to accounts affected by the breach. If a user already has an existing credit-monitoring service, Yahoo will give $100.
To claim the settlement account, a user needs to visit the claim website and fill out the basic account holder claim form. If a user wants to make a bigger claim, more than the $100, documentation like receipts, account statements with authorized charges should be submitted.
The deadline to make a claim is on July 20, 2020.
