It’s data breach Wednesday .
Department of JusticeOfficials a short while ago held a press conference to discuss the indictment todo four individuals connected with Russia ’s spy apparatus, who are accused of taking part in the massive computer systems breaches at Yahoo! (YHOO), confirming speculation in the press earlier today, including a story by Brian Womack of Bloomberg.
And CNBC reports “hundreds” of accounts on Twitter (TWTR) were compromised, including high-profile names such as Justin Bieber and Forbes , displaying messages that appear to be in support of Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan .
A statement from the DoJ is now posted regarding the Yahoo! affair.
Dow Jones’s Aruna Viswanatha reports the DoJ has taken one individual into custody, while three others are believed to be in Russia.
During the press conference, DoJ officials said they had requested, via official channels, the individuals be remanded to U.S. authorities, but that the DoJ has received no reply. Two individuals are believed to work for Russia’sFederal Security Service, relates Viswanatha.
Said DoJ officials, “We are certainly seeing more and more use by nation states of criminal hackers.”
Yahoo’s head of global law enforcement, security and safety, Chris Madsen , posted a statement a short while ago thanking the FBI and the DoJ for their efforts, and saying what is alleged is “consistent with our prior disclosures.”
In a report earlier this month , Yahoo! said that after investigating the data breaches, it determined executives at Yahoo! “failed to act sufficiently upon” knowledge back in 2014 of the breaches.
that Verizon Communications (VZ),which is buying Yahoo!’s “core” advertising business for $4.5 billion, got a $350 million cut in the deal price as a result of the breaches, although the Associated Press on Monday reported Verizon at one point asked Yahoo! for a $925 million discount.
The remaining portion of Yahoo!, which holds its minority stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding (BABA),isgoing to be re-named “ Altaba ” after the Verizon deal closes.
Regarding Twitter, CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal reports that a Twitter spokesperson said of today’s cracked accounts that it is aware of an issue and “our teams are working at pace and taking direct action on this issue,” noting the source of the attacks was deemed to be a third-party app.
Yahoo! shares today are down 42 cents, or 0.9%, at $45.95, while Twitter stock is down 42 cents, or 2.7%, at $14.90.