It wasn’t until two years later that the service provider disclosed the breach to customers whose personal information was at risk. Billions of Yahoo accounts were put at risk, according to the FBI, which blames hackers in Russia for some of the trouble.
The security problem was only revealed after Yahoo worked out a $4.83 billion deal to have some of its assets absorbed by Verizon Communications. That price was later knocked down $350 million to reflect possible problems stemming from the mess.
As part of its settlement, Yahoo will also provide affected customers with two years of credit monitoring services to make sure their banking information isn’t exploited.
According to an ABC report, damages caused by security issues could have cost Yahoo upward of $1 billion had the tech company gone to court and lost its case. The settlement was reached in a San Jose court, near Yahoo’s Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters.
Yahoo was founded in 1994 at the start of the internet boom. Its stock prices hit an all-time high at the start of the new millennium, selling for $18.75 per share. The site’s popularity began to wane as competitors evolved. In 2008, Microsoft Corporation offered $44.6 million for the company and was rebuffed.
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