Hackers steal 450,000 Yahoo account details

A new hacker group has stolen as many as 450,000 Yahoo account details according to reuters. The new hacker group on the scene go by the name D33DS with or deeds if you swap out the 3s for the Es they are intended to be interpreted as. They claimed to have got into the Yahoo databases through a sub-domain and found unencrypted account information – a foolish and amateur mistake on behalf of Yahoo if true.

The data is believed to belong to Yahoo’s VoIP service, Yahoo Voices, which runs on the company’s instant messenger. The hackers claim that they did it to demonstrate Yahoo’s lack of security not because they want to threaten anyone. And indeed it does raise some serious questions about Yahoo’s security levels as data should always be encrypted regardless of where it is stored and how safe that storage location is.

The D33DS company is not that well known, they may or may not be affiliated with the most well known hacker groups anonymous and Lulzsec. They offer paid hacking services and promise to protect the identity of those who pay for those services. It is also considering a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) offer if there is enough interest.

Hacking always seems to be in the news these days and it seems companies, institutions and websites need to do a lot more to ensure they keep details safe or risk a backlash from unhappy citizens and consumers. Yahoo is just the latest victim in a long series of incidents plaguing the likes of Sony, Formspring, TechRadar, the Japanese Ministry of Finance, the CIA, News international and hundreds more.

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