UK broadband customers also affected by Yahoo hack

Yahoo might not be quite as big in the UK as it is in the US, but that doesn’t mean the shockwaves from the company’s enormous hack won’t be felt on the both sides of the Atlantic. In total, 500 million users were affected by the 2014 breach, which was only confirmed yesterday, and some of those accounts may belong to people who use email services provided by UK broadband and TV providers BT and Sky.

Both companies have been forced to contact subscribers asking them to change their passwords following the attack. Before it began migrating users to a new system in 2013, BT’s email service was powered by Yahoo, which was known as BT Yahoo Mail at the time. A small number of people are still using those old accounts and could therefore be implicated in the breach.

In a statement, BT said: “A minority of BT Broadband customers have a legacy email product from Yahoo. We advise customers generally to reset their password regularly and we will be contacting affected customers specifically to help them keep their information safe.”

It’s a similar story with Sky, but the pay-TV provider still actively relies on Yahoo to provide its Sky Yahoo Mail service. Unfortunately, that means Sky customers are more likely to be affected by Yahoo’s security woes. “If you use Sky Yahoo Mail we’d advise that you change your password to help keep your email account safe,” the company says on its website.

With Yahoo admitting that security questions and answers were also grabbed in the hack, users should be extra vigilant if they are contacted by someone purporting to represent Yahoo, BT or Sky. Personal information should never be shared via email and always ensure that if someone makes a telephone enquiry, to get a confirmed telephone number to call them back on.

Via: Financial Times

Source: Sky

Yahoo confirms over 500 million users affected in 2014 breach

Yahoo has confirmed reports that it was the victim of a major hack in late 2014, which has led to some 500 million user accounts being compromised. The story first broke way back in August when a hacker known as Peace was promising to sell 200 million usernames, passwords, birthdates and email addresses for less than $2,000. At the time, Yahoo had refused to confirm or deny if the attack was legitimate to users, a delay which has given nefarious types almost two months head start on their prey.

In a statement posted to its investor relations site, Yahoo claims the massive hack was the act of a “state-sponsored” hacker and elaborates on the kind of data that party might have had access to.

“The account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers,” the statement reads. “The ongoing investigation suggests that stolen information did not include unprotected passwords, payment card data, or bank account information; payment card data and bank account information are not stored in the system that the investigation has found to be affected.”

That sensitive payment information wasn’t among the data breached is cause for mild relief, and Yahoo believes the hacker no longer has access to the company’s systems. The news originally broke over at Re/code, whose sources said that the hack was so large that it was likely to prompt a government investigation. While Yahoo has confirmed that it’s working with law enforcement to figure out exactly what happened, there’s currently no word on whether government agencies are planning to dig into things themselves.

There’s also no official word on why Yahoo waited so long to publicly confirm widespread reports on the breach. We could easily hazard a few guesses, though. The most obvious: Yahoo is currently selling itself to (Engadget’s parent company’s parent company) Verizon, any negative consequences could harm the deal before it officially closes in early 2017. Verizon, for what it’s worth, was only brought into the loop two days ago — a Verizon spokesperson said in a separate statement on Twitter that the company has only “limited information and understanding of the impact.”

Yahoo’s admission could also spell trouble for beleaguered CEO Marissa Mayer — though she has said that she plans to stay with Yahoo even as it becomes a Verizon subsidiary, the questionable handling of this breach seems like yet another in a long line of crucial missteps for both CEO and company.

Chris Velazco contributed to this story.

Via: Re/code

Source: Yahoo Investor Relations

At Least 500 Million Yahoo Accounts Hacked in Late 2014

Yahoo today confirmed that “at least” 500 million Yahoo accounts were compromised in an attack in late 2014, leaking customer information like names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birthdates, hashed passwords, and both encrypted and unencrypted security questions and answers.

Yahoo does not believe unprotected passwords, payment card data, or bank account information was accessed, as that data is not stored in the system that was hacked. According to Yahoo, account information was stolen by a “state-sponsored actor” and the company is working with law enforcement on a full investigation.

Starting today, Yahoo will notify all affected users and is asking them to change their passwords immediately if passwords have not been changed since 2014. All compromised security questions and answers have also been invalidated. Yahoo has laid out a set of recommendations for all customers who might have had data stolen:

-Change your password and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which you used the same or similar information used for your Yahoo account.
– Review your accounts for suspicious activity.
– Be cautious of any unsolicited communications that ask for your personal information or refer you to a web page asking for personal information.
– Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails.
– Additionally, please consider using Yahoo Account Key, a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password altogether.

Yahoo first said it was investigating a data breach earlier this summer after hackers started selling account access online. The full scope of the attack was not revealed until today and could potentially affect Yahoo’s sale to Verizon.

Tag: Yahoo
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‘Yahoo View’ App Debuts With Hulu Content Amid ‘Massive Data Breach’ of Yahoo Services

Earlier in August, Hulu announced that the company would be moving to a subscription-only model, gradually phasing out its free tier — which let users watch the most recent episodes of shows after they aired live on TV — over the subsequent weeks. Thanks to a partnership with Yahoo, Hulu’s free service continues in a website and, recently launched by the company, a free iOS app called “Yahoo View.”

The mobile app appears to be a noticeably tampered-down experience, however. According to TechCrunch, “due to streaming rights” the app only has short clips and trailers from well-known shows, late-night comedy, sports, and news programs, but it doesn’t let users watch full-length TV episodes of anything besides certain anime series. The website version does offer full episodes, but users have to wait eight days after each episode originally airs live on TV for it to appear on Yahoo View.

Featuring Hulu content, the Yahoo View app brings you thousands of clips on-the-go and lets you be the first to see the hottest videos. Watch the latest must-see clips in comedy, late night talk shows, celebrity & entertainment, news and movie trailers. Don’t miss a single moment from your favorite TV shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Dancing With The Stars, The Voice, Law & Order: SVU, New Girl, Black-ish, Modern Family, Empire, Grey’s Anatomy and many more.

The website version of Yahoo View also includes a “Beyond the Episode” feature that lets users navigate GIFs, previews, clips, and spoiler discussions for the episode they just watched, all content integrated with Tumblr, which the iOS app lacks.

The launch of Yahoo View on iOS coincides with an unfortunate news story surrounding the company, which is expected to soon confirm a “massive data breach” that is threatening the exposure of 200 million user accounts. The hack, which includes user credentials dating back to 2012, could potentially cause trouble for the $4.8 billion sale of Yahoo’s core business to Verizon, announced over the summer.

But there’s nothing smooth about this hack, said sources, which became known in August when an infamous cybercriminal named “Peace” said on a website that he was selling credentials of 200 million Yahoo users from 2012 on the dark web for just over $1,800. The data allegedly included user names, easily decrypted passwords, personal information like birth dates and other email addresses.

Although unconfirmed, a source speaking to Recode suggested the hack could target over 200 million user accounts, with the potential for more. “It’s as bad as that,” said one source. “Worse, really.” The company has yet to call for a wide user password reset, but sources close to the matter believe that “Yahoo might have to, although it will be a case of too little, too late.”

The Yahoo View app is available to download on the iOS App Store [Direct Link] for free, and an Android version is expected to launch sometime soon.

Tags: Yahoo, Hulu
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Hulu Goes Exclusively Subscription-Based as Free Streaming Moves to ‘Yahoo View’

Hulu today announced that the company is ending the free, ad-supported tier of its streaming service and focusing on an all-subscription model that will more closely align it to rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime (via Variety). Hulu’s free service — which let users watch the most recent episodes of shows after they aired live on TV — will still continue, but is being transitioned to a new platform called “Yahoo View,” thanks to a distribution partnership between Hulu and Yahoo.

In the free-to-use site Yahoo View, users will be able to watch the five most-recent episodes of shows from networks like ABC, Fox, and NBC, but will now have to wait eight days after they originally air. Yahoo View will also provide clips previewing upcoming episodes and entire seasons of anime and Korean drama series. Users can expect Hulu’s free service to be phased out “over the next few weeks.”

Hulu senior vice president Ben Smith said that the main reason behind the move was that the company’s free service “became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy.” With the elimination of the ad-supported tier, users will have just two options to watch Hulu: its basic $7.99 per month service with commercials, or a higher-tier $11.99 per month option without commercials.

“For the past couple years, we’ve been focused on building a subscription service that provides the deepest, most personalized content experience possible to our viewers,” Hulu senior VP and head of experience Ben Smith said in a statement. “As we have continued to enhance that offering with new originals, exclusive acquisitions, and movies, the free service became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy.”

For now, Yahoo View is available only on the web, but the company said that mobile apps will be coming soon, although no release window was given. Since Yahoo shuttered its digital online video service, Yahoo Screen, earlier in the year, the acquisition of Hulu’s former free content is expected to help bolster Yahoo’s standing as a contender in the ever-expanding online streaming competition.

For Hulu, the move comes just under a week after Time Warner bought a 10 percent stake in the company to join Disney, 21st Century Fox and Comcast/NBC Universal as shareholders. Looking forward, Hulu is also prepping a live TV streaming service for sometime in 2017, which would add another subscription tier onto its streaming options with a service that focuses on quality over quantity, since the company “isn’t looking to offer all the hundreds of channels found in the traditional cable bundle.”

Tags: Yahoo, Hulu
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Hulu Goes Exclusively Subscription-Based as Free Streaming Moves to ‘Yahoo View’

Hulu today announced that the company is ending the free, ad-supported tier of its streaming service and focusing on an all-subscription model that will more closely align it to rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime (via Variety). Hulu’s free service — which let users watch the most recent episodes of shows after they aired live on TV — will still continue, but is being transitioned to a new platform called “Yahoo View,” thanks to a distribution partnership between Hulu and Yahoo.

In the free-to-use site Yahoo View, users will be able to watch the five most-recent episodes of shows from networks like ABC, Fox, and NBC, but will now have to wait eight days after they originally air. Yahoo View will also provide clips previewing upcoming episodes and entire seasons of anime and Korean drama series. Users can expect Hulu’s free service to be phased out “over the next few weeks.”

Hulu senior vice president Ben Smith said that the main reason behind the move was that the company’s free service “became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy.” With the elimination of the ad-supported tier, users will have just two options to watch Hulu: its basic $7.99 per month service with commercials, or a higher-tier $11.99 per month option without commercials.

“For the past couple years, we’ve been focused on building a subscription service that provides the deepest, most personalized content experience possible to our viewers,” Hulu senior VP and head of experience Ben Smith said in a statement. “As we have continued to enhance that offering with new originals, exclusive acquisitions, and movies, the free service became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy.”

For now, Yahoo View is available only on the web, but the company said that mobile apps will be coming soon, although no release window was given. Since Yahoo shuttered its digital online video service, Yahoo Screen, earlier in the year, the acquisition of Hulu’s former free content is expected to help bolster Yahoo’s standing as a contender in the ever-expanding online streaming competition.

For Hulu, the move comes just under a week after Time Warner bought a 10 percent stake in the company to join Disney, 21st Century Fox and Comcast/NBC Universal as shareholders. Looking forward, Hulu is also prepping a live TV streaming service for sometime in 2017, which would add another subscription tier onto its streaming options with a service that focuses on quality over quantity, since the company “isn’t looking to offer all the hundreds of channels found in the traditional cable bundle.”

Tags: Yahoo, Hulu
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Hulu is ending the free version of its streaming service

Hulu is eliminating the ad-supported free streaming service it has offered over nearly a decade.

The platform is opting instead to team up with Yahoo with a special distribution deal that’s spawning Yahoo View, a new TV streaming service with a small selection of what Hulu previously offered free viewers. Yahoo View will feature the five most recent episodes of shows selected from ABC, NBC and Fox eight days after their original air date. Additional series and a sampling of clips, anime and Korean drama will be made available as well.

Yahoo View is available to pore over now if you’re interested in giving it a go over subscribing to Hulu. Going forward the streaming service will continue to offer the same two subscription plans: $7.99 a month with commercials and $11.99 a month without ad-supported viewing.

Yahoo is currently being acquired by Verizon as part of a $4.8 billion deal, which isn’t expected to close until the end of 2016 or the first quarter of 2017. The partnership with Hulu should no doubt draw some support for Yahoo, especially since Hulu’s former free content enthusiasts will need to seek a new home for their streaming fix.

Via: Variety

Yahoo researchers built a powerful new online abuse detector

A team of researchers at Yahoo Labs have plumbed the depths of their company’s massive comment sections to come up with something that might actually be useful for detecting and eventually curbing rampant online abuse. Using a first-of-its-kind data set built from offensive article comments flagged by Yahoo editors, the research team was able to develop an algorithm that, according Technology Review, is the best automated abuse filter built to date.

Most current abuse filters rely on a combination of blacklisted terms, common expressions and syntax clues to catch hate speech online, but the Yahoo team went a step further and applied machine learning to their massive repository of flagged comments. Using a technique called “word embedding,” which processes words as vectors rather than either simply positive or negative, the Yahoo system can recognize an offensive string of words, even if the individual words are inoffensive on their own. According to the their findings, the system was able to correctly identify abusive language from the same data set about 90 percent of the time. While that figure is impressive, the ever-changing nature of hate speech means no system — not even a human one — will ever truly be able to know what’s offensive 100 percent of the time.

As Alex Krasodomski-Jones, an online abuse researcher with the UK’s Centre for Analysis of Social Media, told Technology Review, “Given 10 tweets, a group of humans will rarely all agree on which ones should be classed as abusive, so you can imagine how difficult it would be for a computer.”

Yahoo launches its redesigned Messenger app for desktops

Okay, this isn’t the biggest news you’ll hear from Yahoo this week, but bear with us — it’s important if you still rely on Yahoo for your messaging needs. The internet pioneer has released its long-in-development redesign of Yahoo Messenger for the desktop, giving the software both a much fresher look and a handful of big new features that you don’t always see in personal chat clients. You can unsend messages, for example — good for those overly hasty reactions or correcting mistakes. You can also search for GIF replies (much like you might in Slack), like posts and share numerous photos at once just by dragging them into the conversation.

Both Mac and Windows users can download the new app today. And if you depend on an official, native messaging app on your PC, you’ll want to get it quickly. Yahoo is still on track to phase out its old desktop app on August 5th, so you won’t have much choice but to embrace modernity (or at least, find a third-party client) in the days ahead.

Source: Yahoo Messenger (Tumblr), Yahoo