Yahoo! UK Services Limited has been fined 拢250,000 by the Information Commissioner鈥檚 Office (ICO) following a cyber-attack in November 2014.
The cyber-attack left the personal data of approximately 500 million international users at risk.
Because of when the breach happened, the penalty was carried out under the Data Protection Act 1998 rather than the new GDPR, which has a maximum fine of 拢500,000.
鈥淧eople expect that organisations will keep their personal data safe from malicious intruders who seek to exploit it,鈥� said ICO Deputy Commissioner of Operations, James Dipple-Johnstone.
鈥淯nder the GDPR and the new Data Protection Act 2018, individuals have stronger rights and more control and choice over their personal data.
鈥淚f organisations, especially well-resourced, experienced ones, do not properly safeguard their customers鈥� personal data, they may find customers taking their business elsewhere.鈥�
The ICO focused on the 515,121 UK accounts, that Yahoo! UK Services Limited 鈥� based in London – had responsibility for as a data controller.
鈥淭he failings our investigation identified are not what we expect from a company that had ample opportunity to implement appropriate measures, and potentially stop UK citizens鈥� data being compromised,鈥� said Dipple-Johnstone.
The compromised personal data included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords, and encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.
The ICO considered the breach to be a serious contravention of Principle 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998, which states that appropriate technical and organisational measures must be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data.