U.S. Indicts Four Individuals in Russia and Canada for 'Largest' Cyber Attack

Media reports indicate that U.S. officials will soon file criminal charges against three individuals in Russia and one in Canada for cyber attacks on Yahoo's website, described as the 'largest' of its kind. Last December, Yahoo announced that over one billion user accounts were compromised during a massive attack in 2013, and 500 million accounts were hacked in 2014. Yahoo stated that personal information, including names, birth dates, emails, phone numbers, as well as unencrypted passwords and security questions, were stolen. Reuters and Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed officials, that the U.S. Department of Justice intends to announce charges against these individuals by March 15 (U.S. time). Three of the individuals reside in Russia, and one in Canada. The individual in Canada is expected to be arrested there, but since there is no extradition treaty between Russia and the U.S., the likelihood of arresting the other three is significantly lower. The cyber attacks on Yahoo and the data theft, reported at various times, are considered the 'largest' of their kind in history. Initial rumors about the cyber breach at Yahoo emerged last September, with claims that a hacker named 'Peace' had allegedly 'sold' the information of 200 million Yahoo users online. Following this, Yahoo announced it was investigating the matter and ultimately accepted its 'mistakes' during the attacks. Recently, Yahoo reported that it had been informed last year that 'an actor with government support had gained access to some user accounts.' Yahoo! is a multinational company based in the United States, with its headquarters located in Sunnyvale, California.