Yahoo (YHOO) Is Being Sued After Massive Cyber Attack

A Yahoo user has sued Yahoo and accused it of gross negligence after the internet giant disclosed the biggest cyber attack in history. About half a billion people have been affected.

Yahoo just disclosed the hack on Thursday and said it was allegedly committed by a “state-sponsored actor” on behalf of a foreign government, according to the company. It said the breach occurred in 2014.

The lawsuit was filed in the federal court in San Jose, California by Ronald Schwartz, a New Yorker, on behalf of all Yahoo users in the United States whose personal information was compromised. It seeks class-action status and unspecified damages.

Whether you have a Yahoo email, or don’t, but play fantasy sports on Yahoo or post pictures on Flicklr or write a blog on Tumblr, you could be affected.

“There are lots of people, millions of people, who don’t understand they have a Yahoo account,” said Per Thorsheim, a global cybersecurity expert based in Norway.

According to Per Thorsheim, one of his big concerns is that many people don’t realize they have other accounts that put their information, such as names and email addresses, in jeopardy.

Verizon is currently buying Yahoo for $4.8 billion.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) nor Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and have not been compensated for this article.