After this recent acquisition, Verizon announced that they plan to combine Yahoo’s operating business with AOL, which was purchased in 2015. This merger will form a new division called Oath, which will act as a division of Verizon. It will house over 50 media and technology brands. These will include household names such as HuffPost, Tech Crunch, and Tumblr. Because of Yahoo’s enormous reach, Verizon plans to leverage the audience to compete with sites like Facebook and Google in terms of advertising.

Read More: What is the ‘Yahoobleed’ Bug and How it Affects You

Unfortunately, this merger is accompanied by the possibility of a lot of layoffs. Verizon noted that they plan to layoff more than 2,000 employees, which will be the equivalent of 15 percent of the division’s new workforce. Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa Mayer, will be resigning from the company, receiving a not-too-shabby $23 million severance package. Verizon wished her luck in her future endeavors, according to a company statement.

This news comes on the heels of Yahoo recently disclosing two huge security breaches, affecting more than a billion users. Yahoo was forced to cut their price tag to $350 million and to split the cost of legal liabilities with Verizon as a result of the breaches.

This also comes after Yahoo has spent years struggling to find relevance on the web. The company went through multiple CEOs, and attempted to regain popularity through large-scale acquisitions — it even passed up the chance to buy Facebook. Yahoo also hired personalities like Katie Couric in an attempt to reach a greater audience as well as a younger demographic.

They felt the need to compete with other sites and mobile apps, but sadly, their efforts did not do much to turn around Yahoo’s business. Many of those who worked for Yahoo in its earlier and more popular days have already moved on to other tech companies such as Slack, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn.

While it’s sad to see Yahoo come to an end, it’s exciting to see what will come next for the acquisition in the creation of Verizon’s new division, Oath. Stay tuned to see how things unfold and to enjoy what comes next in the world of technology!

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Unfortunately, fingerprint scanning may not be so safe and secure. When your biometric information is compromised, there is nothing you can do to change it. In fact, using fingerprint logins could put users at risk for identity theft. The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) revealed how Apple’s Touch ID could be easily tricked by very simple means. While this may not seem like a big deal, the application trickles down into other security issues.

Read More: Firmware Detected in Devices

If fingerprint scanning is the next big thing, what’s to stop someone from lifting your fingerprint and using it on far more than your cell phone? The CCC showed ways to work around the fingerprints — and that was back in 2004. Fast forward to 2016, and everything from tanning salons to the neighborhood gym are requiring fingerprint identification. While it’s great to think that you don’t need to worry if you forget your wallet or membership card, there’s a hidden danger.

When Yahoo had thousands of compromised email accounts, what did it do? Yahoo advised its users to change their passwords immediately. If you lose your wallet, what do you do? You call your bank, cancel your old card, and request a new one. But what happens when your biometric identity, in the form of your fingerprint, is stolen? What can you do then? Not much.

Studies (and hacker groups making a point) have repeatedly shown how these scanners can be fooled with something as simple as Play Doh. The best way to install biometrics for any company would be to include two-factor authentication. Users would need to provide more than a biometric scan. Rather, the scan would bring up a user ID that would then have to be verified with a second form of authentication. A masked user ID would help ensure a higher level of protection.

Until fingerprint login is more secure, keep your important apps away from snoops with PSafe Total. Its Applock feature provides password protection so no one can browse through your apps without your permission. What’s more — you can even protect your Facebook page, so your private messages stay that way.

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Yahoo users and employees are up in arms about the secret scanning that occurred. Yahoo’s chief executive, Marissa Mayer, went behind the security team’s back, asking email engineers to handle the development of the software that would conduct the scans. The White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, has stated, “The United States only uses signals intelligence for national security purposes and not for the purpose of indiscriminately reviewing the emails or phone calls of ordinary people, and certainly not of law-abiding American citizens.”

Read More: An Overview of Apps That Aim to Manage Your Inbox

Why Did Yahoo Scan Their Users’ Emails?

A programming error left all of Yahoo email vulnerable to hackers, according to a former employee. What’s more, Yahoo decided not to fight the order, a move that caused a couple of Yahoo officials to leave the company. It’s the lack of a fight that has caused some Yahoo executives to leave, like the former chief information security officer, Alex Stamos. Reportedly, another staff member is leaving due to the lack of ethics involved in providing free reign to email inboxes.

Yahoo has stated that its loyalties lie in the government and that it is a law-abiding company — and then denied the allegations a day later. The whole ordeal has left many confused and angry. Tech companies typically strive for transparency. Emails aren’t just offered up without a fight. Well, not usually, anyway. Many times, these companies head to court to fight for the right to refuse email scans. This time, Yahoo didn’t even try to fight — and affected all of its users.

The Problem with Scanning Emails

Scanning email in real time is alarming. This news has caused many Yahoo users to abandon their Yahoo accounts in favor of another company. Users are turning to alternate email services to help ensure better privacy protection. If you are a Yahoo user, you may be interested in using a different service as well; one that lists their member’s privacy as a top priority. Email services like Gmail or Hotmail may make a nice alternative.

Download PSafe Total

Keep your online browsing as secure as your email account. Install PSafe Total for antivirus and malware protection. Don’t worry about web security when you do your online shopping — trust in PSafe for the protection you need.

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What Does Cybersecurity Insurance Offer?

Obtaining cybersecurity insurance is a crucial step to take for a business. It will help to reduce most losses from cyberattacks, such as network damage and data breaches, among other issues. The insurance will cover many necessary steps needed after a cyberattack, such as taking measures to secure a company from further damage, in addition to informing any clients, paying fines, and investigating the security breach. Cybersecurity insurance also works to prevent cyberattacks and data breaches by having companies adopt safe practices. In exchange for these preventative measures, a company might receive a reduced rate or more coverage. In addition, companies like Cisco, that offer data encryption through VPN services, often come with cybersecurity insurance for their clients (which could be a major hospital, for example).

Read More: How Do the Presidential Candidates View Cybersecurity?

What Cybersecurity Insurance Doesn’t Offer

Cybersecurity insurance usually doesn’t cover damage to a company’s reputation. Hopefully the company will take the necessary measures for rebuilding their reputation, such as immediately informing clients of the security breach and ensuring clients that their company will actively work to prevent future attacks. In addition, cybersecurity insurance won’t make up for lost business from the security breach.

Coverage can also be limited due to the indefinite nature of a cyberattack. It can be difficult to quantify a company’s chance of being victim to a cyberattack or the value of their data. It doesn’t help, either, that technology is ever changing and that safe cybersecurity practices need to compete with this rapid development. An inability to adopt the latest safe practices within a certain time frame could come across as negligence.

Protect Your Device with PSafe

While companies focus on safer cybersecurity habits, so should those companies’ clients — and beyond. It’s important for all of us to stay up to date on the latest cyber threats and best practices for preventing a cyberattack. One way that you can increase your cyber-awareness is by utilizing antivirus software. Download PSafe Total for your Android and PSafe Total Windows for your computer to protect your devices against security threats 24/7.

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Who’s Responsible for the Yahoo Hack?
The short answer: we still don’t know. Yahoo previously stated that the hack was state-sponsored, meaning that a foreign government is likely responsible. However, InfoArmor, a cybersecurity company based in Arizona, recently claimed that an Eastern European gang was responsible. That gang then sold the stolen information to several clients, one of them being a state-sponsored group. This gang has also been responsible for several other major security breaches, including ones at LinkedIn and Tumblr. Neither answer, however, is definite. The Yahoo hack is still being investigated. It could be a while before there’s a definite answer as to who is responsible, or we may never really know. Unfortunately, cybersecurity breaches can be difficult to track.

Read More: 500 Million Yahoo Accounts Stolen

 The Known Information About the Hack
Yahoo has made plenty of excuses for this breach, one of them being that they couldn’t have prevented the attack. But it has been well documented now that the company didn’t have the right attitude towards security. While cybersecurity threats and large company breaches have become increasingly common, there are measures Yahoo could have taken to make their service more secure.

But this all happened two years ago. How are we just finding out about it now? Earlier this year, an online user bragged about having Yahoo account information for sale. A streak of other clues followed, and the breach was eventually confirmed. A lot of account information was stolen, such as personal information and passwords, and even recovery email addresses.

How to Respond to the Yahoo Cyberattack
This is a big deal. Even if you don’t currently use Yahoo, odds are you at one point had a Yahoo email address (considering how popular it used to be), so it’s a good idea to check on the status of that old account if it’s still around. As with all of your accounts, make sure to practice good password-making habits and to have unique passwords for each account. If you must use security questions, make your answers more complex or misleading. Make sure to be aware of current cyber threats and how you can protect your information. Finally, download PSafe Total and PSafe Total Windows for automatic, 24/7 virus scans on your devices.

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“The account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers,” Yahoo said in a statement.

Yahoo is urging users to change passwords immediately and are currently working with law enforcement on the breach that has affected 500 million yahoo accounts today alone.

Back in August, a large-scale data breach was rumored to be brewing when a hacker that goes by the name of “Peace” claimed they were selling Yahoo accounts by the millions (200 million to be exact).While Yahoo originally said it was “aware of a claim”, fast-forward 2 months and the hacker’s damage has proven to be far more in counting causing several users wondering how to recover their data.

What to do now:

1. Protect your Yahoo account by resetting your password and security questions
2. Run an Antivirus scan to keep your email account protected from hackers

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