Data commissioner steps up investigation into Yahoo hack

User information stolen for 500 million Yahoo accounts

Hackers stole the data from Yahoo accounts in 2014. Photograph: Reuters
Hackers stole the data from Yahoo accounts in 2014. Photograph: Reuters

The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) said it had stepped up its examination of the theft of user information for 500 million Yahoo! accounts.

Yahoo revealed in September that hackers had stolen the data in 2014. US politicians have criticised the delay in notifying customers.

The DPC has received some information from Yahoo, a spokeswoman said and is trying to ascertain if EU laws have been broken.

Certain facts

“We are in regular contact with Yahoo! EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) in clarifying certain facts of this case and will then proceed to take appropriate next steps once we have established some basic parameters,” a DPC spokeswoman said in a statement.

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Yahoo did not respond to a request for comment.

The DPC is the lead European regulator on privacy issues for Yahoo because its European headquarters are in Dublin.

“We are receiving active and engaged responses to our queries,” the spokeswoman said.

(-Reuters)