• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion,but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion,but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
TechYahoo

Yahoo Hacks: 5 Things We Still Don’t Know

Jeff John Roberts
By
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Editor, Finance and Crypto
Down Arrow Button Icon
Jeff John Roberts
By
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Editor, Finance and Crypto
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 17, 2017, 1:04 PM ET
Fortune Global Forum - Day 2
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - NOVEMBER 03: Marissa Mayer speaks during the Fortune Global Forum - Day2 at the Fairmont Hotel on November 3, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Fortune)Kimberly White—Getty Images for Fortune
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The Justice Department dropped a stunner of a document this week that revealed how Russian spies worked with common criminals to strip mine information from millions of Yahoo user accounts. In a 39-page indictment, the government revealed new details about the colossal data breach, plus some bizarre tidbits—like how one of the hackers used the Yahoo (YHOO) information to also push erectile dysfunction drugs.

The unsealed indictment and a press conference by the federal government announcing cyber crime charges against four men explains a lot about who hacked Yahoo and how they did it. But there are still some major questions for which both consumers and investors need answers. Here are five things we have yet to learn:

What about the 1 billion accounts hacked in 2013?

The Justice Department news is about the hack of 500 million accounts—everything from email to fantasy sports services—that took place in 2014, and which Yahoo disclosed in September. The announcement, however, was oddly silent about an even bigger breach of 1 billion accounts that took place in 2013, and which the company disclosed in December.

What’s the story? Was the 2013 hack unrelated to the allegedly state-supported Russian intrusion of 2014? Or is it possible the 2013 attack was also carried out by Russian criminals like the main culprit named in this week’s indictment without government involvement? If the latter theory is correct, it would undercut the argument the Yahoo hack was “state sponsored” in origin—and makes it more likely the hacks are another example of the Kremlin spy machine piggy-backing on the work of cyber-criminals.

Who are the unnamed executives and companies that got hit by the hackers?

The Russian hackers allegedly broke into the Yahoo accounts of senior executives at big U.S. companies, including a major airline and a financial firm. If this is the case, they could have obtained all sorts of sensitive corporate information, especially if (as is not uncommon) the executives used these non-work emails to communicate with key staff.

The indictment also describes how the hackers gained access to the “Yahoo users’ accounts of three different offices of U.S. Cloud Computing Company 1.” Obviously, it’s not possible to know which cloud company this is—it could be anyone from Amazon (YHOO) Web Services to Salesforce to Microsoft (MSFT) to some other firm. But it’s worth noting the infiltration of their executives’ Yahoo accounts could be a stepping stone into breaking into their corporate accounts, and gaining access to information about the cloud company’s customers.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Why did the Justice Department announce this now?

There have been leaks for months that the Justice Department was investigating the Yahoo hacks, so the news of the indictment was not a huge surprise. But given how political the topic of Russian hacking has become, it’s worth asking why the agency chose this week to announce it.

It’s possible the timing simply coincides with the end of the investigation. But a person with ties to the Justice Department, who was not authorized to speak for attribution, said the timing may be more deliberate. Specifically, this person said many suspect the Yahoo file have come to the attention of new Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who then pressed to publicize it to show he and the Trump Administration want to take a hard line on Russian hacking.

Who at Yahoo knew about the hacking—and when?

This remains the most burning and sensitive question of all. Since it disclosed the attacks in September, Yahoo has been coy (to put it politely) about what happened. The company has conceded it first learned of the breach in 2014, but it also suggested the matter somehow never reached the level of importance to notify senior management.

CEO Marissa Mayer is sticking to her story that she learned of the attack shortly before everyone else, including <a href="https://fortune.com/2017/02/21/yahoo-verizon-hacking-deal/">Verizon</a> (VZ), which by then had decided to buy the company. And in early March, Mayer basically made Yahoo lawyer Ron Bell the fall guy for the whole incident—a move that was lambasted on social media and by prominent tech journalist Kara Swisher.

If this official account is true, it still doesn’t explain who first learned of the account hacking, and how far up the executive chain the news traveled. This week’s news shed no light on the matter—but it’s a good bet class action lawyers will use the legal discovery process to reveal what actually happened.

What will the SEC do?

The Justice Department’s announcement takes care of the criminal side of the Yahoo breach, even if three of the four hackers are unlikely to ever see a U.S. jail cell, since they are in Russia.

But there is also a second major investigation swirling around the Yahoo incident, one that is reportedly being carried out by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC probe turns on whether the company broke the law by failing to disclose the breach to investors, who were left holding Yahoo shares as news of the disaster trickled out.

The plot became thicker this week as an FBI agent told Ars Technica, “Yahoo was under no government mandate not to tell customers of the breach.” If this other shoe drops, the SEC fallout for Yahoo could be painful.

About the Author
Jeff John Roberts
By Jeff John RobertsEditor, Finance and Crypto
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jeff John Roberts is the Finance and Crypto editor at Fortune, overseeing coverage of the blockchain and how technology is changing finance.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Current price of Ethereum for June 24, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for June 24, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
Taktile cofounders Maik Taro Wehmeyer (left) and Maximilian Eber (right) stand side by side, smiling at the camera.
Startups & VentureVenture Capital
Exclusive: Taktile raises $110 million from Goldman Sachs, Tiger Global to automate high-stakes financial decisions 
By Camila Grigera NaónJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
Sarah Youngwood, EVP and CFO at Nasdaq.
AICFO Daily
Nasdaq’s CFO says leaders must learn AI—not just their teams
By Sheryl EstradaJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
steve
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
Steve Case: America was built by entrepreneurs. Here’s how we keep that edge for the next 250 years
By Steve CaseJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
(left to right) Andrew Berman, Tal Peretz, and Vitor Balocco
AIVenture Capital
Exclusive: Vinod Khosla wanted ‘every available dollar’ of Runlayer’s funding round. It just raised $30 million to govern the agent workforce
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
t
CommentaryWhite House
Trump mistakes the bully pulpit for bullying leadership — history’s villains were never heroes
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven TianJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion,but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion,but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.