Back in 2014, Yahoo experienced a major data breach of millions of its accounts, though it never publically revealed simply how many.

Today, the firm published a message on its Tumblr page, revealing that 500 million accounts were compromised in what Yahoo thinks was a "state-sponsored" act.

Yahoo states the information collected from these compromised accounts consists of names, e-mail addresses, phone number, birthdates, hashed passwords, and secured or unencrypted security responses. Yahoo states that the leaked info didn't consist of unprotected passwords, credit card, or bank info.

In spite of that, because of the nature of the leakage, Yahoo is recommending that affected users need to change their security questions for any accounts that might utilise the exact same questions. They're working carefully with authorities to identify who lagged the hack. however, users should follow these security steps to prevent details being used to gain access to other accounts.

* Modify your password and security questions and answers for other accounts too

* Check your account for suspicious activity.

* Beware of any unsolicited communications that request for your personal details or refer you to a website requesting personal details.

* Avoid clicking links or downloading files from suspicious e-mails.