Yahoo rejects ID hacker fears
Yahoo has downplayed concerns that its plans to recycle inactive user IDs could leave users exposed to hackers, saying only 7 per cent of those IDs are tied to actual Yahoo email accounts.
The internet company, which announced last week it would release user IDs that have been inactive for more than 12 months so that other people can claim them, was pressed to defend the plan after critics warned that hackers who take control of inactive accounts could also assume the identities of the accounts' previous owners.
Yahoo hopes the plan will spark fresh interest in its web products like Mail, where users prefer individualised user IDs often derived from common names. But criticism of the plan comes at a time when fears over the security of personal information on the internet have been heightened by revelations of massive US government snooping and international online crime. Yahoo stressed that it has put in place various safeguards, such as coordinating with other major web companies including Google and Amazon to minimise the risk of identity theft.
