US YAHOO 

Washington, DC, Sept. 22 — Yahoo Inc. announced Thursday that the people behind a 2014 hack targeting the Internet firm accessed the account data of as many as 500 million users.

“We have confirmed, based on a recent investigation, that a copy of certain user account information was stolen from our network in late 2014 by what we believe is a state-sponsored actor,” Yahoo said in a statement.

The Yahoo user information possibly accessed by the hackers includes names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and passwords, as well as security questions and the corresponding answers, the company said.

“Yahoo is working closely with law enforcement on this matter,” the statement said.

The company began an investigation last month after a hacker called “Peace” said he was offering for sale the usernames and passwords from 200 million Yahoo accounts.

Confirmation of the massive leak may have implications for Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo in a US$4.8 billion deal signed in July this year, a transaction that is still waiting for regulatory approval. EFE