Yahoo has followed the footsteps of Facebook and Twitter and has announced they will also alert its users regarding state-sponsored attacks — So if any user is found to have been targeted by state-sponsored hackers they will receive an alert from Yahoo.
Though, the company did not disclose how it will be identifying state-sponsored attacks but users should gear up for these alerts as official blog post from Yahoo stated:
“We’re committed to protecting the security and safety of our users and we strive to detect and prevent unauthorized access to user accounts by third parties. As (a) part of this effort, Yahoo will now notify you if we strongly suspect that your account may have been targeted by a state-sponsored hacker”.
If you receive such alerts, Yahoo recommends employing two-step verification to your account.
Furthermore, the company suggested users to employ strong password for their account and also monitor sign-in notifications vigilantly because even if the hackers squeeze through they can be denied from new sign-in notifications.
But, notifications about state-sponsored attack won’t mean a user’s account is compromised, in a disclaimer Yahoo stated:
“Rather, we strongly suspect that you may have been a target of an attack, and want to encourage you to take steps to secure your online presence,” the company stated.
Lastly, any account compromise doesn’t mean hack of Yahoo’s internal system.
“So how do we know if an attack is state-sponsored? In order to prevent the actors from learning our detection methods, we do not share any details publicly about these attacks,” according to Yahoo’s blog post.
HackRead recommends users to go for a strong and unique password for each account you are using online. Don’t forget to change your password on a monthly basis.
