Government-backed cyber attacks are increasingly on the rise and in light of that, Yahoo has decided to alert its users in case they become the victim of state-sponsored hacking. The company will now begin providing specific notifications to its consumers so they can take steps to secure their account.
Getting a message from Yahoo doesn’t necessarily mean a person has been the target of an attack. A notification will be sent in case the company highly suspects the user has been compromised and wants to encourage them to increase their security. The brand further said that these missives do not indicate the site itself has been hacked.
What to do if the govt is spying on you
In a blog post, Yahoo Chief Information Security Officer Bob Lord outlined the measures an individual can take to protect themselves after they receive a message. They first have to turn on Account Key or Two-Step Verification. This will give the user the power to approve or deny sign-in notifications, which will let them allow or stop access to their account.
Yahoo members can then create a strong password which they’ve never used before. After this, they may review their account recovery information such as their alternate email address or phone number and make sure they still have access to it. Any information which is inaccessible or unknown should be deleted immediately.
Further precautions to take
Other steps to take include checking the existing mail forwarding and reply-to settings. Yahoo warns that attackers might modify these details to get copies of emails consumers send or receive. Individual could also head over to their account settings and look for recent activity which they don’t recognize.
Yahoo has not disclosed how exactly it’s distinguishing state-sponsored attacks from other ones. It claims the secrecy is necessary so the people behind such attempts do not learn its detection procedures.