Feds Identify Four Perps In Connection With Yahoo Hacks

According to a report by Bloomberg, four people have been identified in connection with the hacks of Yahoo. Three are Russian. One, in a moment of national shame for me, is apparently Canadian and he or she is under arrest:

U.S. officials are planning to unseal charges against four people, including two linked to the Russian intelligence service, related to the hacking attacks against Yahoo! Inc., according to a person briefed on the matter.

The Justice Department is accusing them of participating in massive online security breaches that compromised hundreds of millions of user accounts, said the person, who asked not to be identified because it was a sensitive legal matter. The hacks came to light last year and threatened to derail the sale of Yahoo’s web operations to Verizon Communications Inc.

One of the people was arrested in Canada Tuesday and was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for an extradition hearing, according an officer with the court in Hamilton, near Toronto. Additional details weren’t immediately. Three of the suspects are believed to be in Russia, according to the person. Representatives of Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo and the Justice Department declined to comment.

So this case has taken an interesting turn as it looks like these hacks were state sponsored. That’s going to be a concern going forward as it is now clear that whether you’re a government or a corporation, you have to consider those actors as well as the 12 year old living in their mother’s basement.

UPDATE: There are many more details on this story now coming to light which make for a very interesting read. For that, I would direct you to this story. Also of note, Marissa Mayer who is the CEO of Yahoo who was clearly asleep at the switch when these hacks occurred had this to say on Twitter:

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