Yandex Data Leak: What You Need to Know
The Russian tech firm Yandex just had a large data leak of more than 92 million records revealed. Compared to other data breaches, this one ranks high on the list of severity, causing widespread alarm among security experts. Here, we’ll define the Yandex data breach, investigate its root causes, and offer some preventative measures you can take.
What is Yandex and What Happened in the Leak?
Yandex, the largest technology business in the country, runs the most popular search engine in Russia. Email, cloud storage, online maps, and more are among the organization’s many services. A hacker broke into Yandex’s computers in late January 2023 and stole 92 million records, including names, email addresses, passwords, and payment information. Next, they posted the stolen data for sale on an online hacking forum.
Group-IB, a cyber-security outfit, detected the data leak and promptly informed Yandex. Yandex has confirmed the data breach, saying that both old and new user accounts were compromised. Users could rest comfortably that their financial information and other critical data were encrypted, as the corporation had promised.
What Information was Stolen?
Names, email addresses, birth dates, and phone numbers were among the personal details of Yandex users that were compromised in the data breach. Passwords encrypted using the SHA-1 hashing algorithm were also part of the leak. Although this algorithm has a good reputation for safety, it has been shown to be weak to attacks and easy to break by knowledgeable cybercriminals.
Moreover, the exposed data contained credit card and bank account numbers, payment information, and other financial data. Since it can be exploited for financial and identity fraud, the fact that it was encrypted does not make it less of a threat.
What Causes Data Breaches?
Hacking, human mistake, and security flaws in the system are only a few of the many potential sources of a data leak. The hacker behind the Yandex data breach exploited a hole in the company’s security to gain access to the company’s computers. This exemplifies the significance of always using the most recent version of software and hardware to avoid any security holes.
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself
Yandex users must take precautions to protect their personal and financial data. For your protection, please consider the following advice:
Urgent: Immediately change your Yandex account’s password if you have one. Passwords should be at least 12 characters long and contain a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
Keep checking your credit card and bank accounts for any unauthorized charges and report them immediately.
Take Precautions Against Phishing Scams. Always exercise caution before responding to emails or messages that request personal information. Phishing scams may be targeting you.
Put in place two-factor authentication on all your accounts if practicable. This makes it much harder for hackers to gain access to your accounts by increasing their difficulty.
Conclusion
The security community is worried about the Yandex data leak since it is a major compromise. Yandex users must take precautions to protect their personal and financial data. The risks involved and the knowledge you have can be reduced by using the advice given above.