Yahoo Knew About 'State-Sponsored' 2014 Hacks: SEC Filings

Yahoo "identified that a state-sponsored actor had access to the company’s network in late 2014," the company reported in SEC filings related to its proposed $4.8 billion acquisition by Verizon. The disclosure directly contradicts Yahoo's previous claims that the breach was only discovered in August, the Financial Times reports. Yahoo says it launched a serious investigation into its network security in 2016, and that it lacked a complete picture of the hacks because of the "sophisticated nature of state-sponsored attacks."

The hack has complicated Verizon's proposed acquisition of Yahoo, which was first announced in July, before the hacks became public knowledge. Verizon believes that news of the hack should affect the deal (read: lower the purchase price), while Yahoo is arguing that the revelations had no impact on Yahoo's business. Yahoo has already been hit with 23 class-action lawsuits—both foreign and domestic—over its handling of the breach, Ars Technica reports. (More Yahoo stories.)