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Yahoo Confirms Huge Data Breach Affecting 500 Million Accounts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo says the personal information in 500 million accounts was stolen in a massive security breakdown. The breach disclosed Thursday, the latest setback for the beleaguered internet company, dates back to late 2014.

The stolen data includes users' names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords and security questions for verifying an account holder's identity. Yahoo is blaming the hack on a "state-sponsored actor."

Yahoo is recommending that users change their passwords if they haven't done so since 2014.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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