SEC is reportedly investigating Yahoo’s multiple data breaches

The chapter of Yahoo’s two massive data breaches involving more than one billion users is far from over. Apparently, the company is facing an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for not disclosing the hacks sooner, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The report says that SEC investigation is still in its early stages, and would be looking into whether Yahoo's disclosures about the data breaches complied with civil securities laws.

Yahoo, which is in the process of being acquired by Verizon acknowledged in September 2016 that “state-sponsored” hackers stole data from 500 million users back in 2014. If that wasn’t bad, just three months later, it revealed a second data breach, this time affecting almost one billion users. Yahoo admitted that some employees were aware of the first incident as far back as 2014, yet it waited years before making a disclosure to investors — that is what the SEC is probing, according to the Journal.

In September, Democratic Senator Mark Warner asked the SEC to investigate whether Yahoo and its executives fulfilled its obligations to go public about the 2014 hack.

While the investigation is primarily centered on what wasn’t disclosed to investors, it probably may also have links with the soon-to-be parent company Verizon, who has said repeatedly after each incident that it will “evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation.”

The SEC investigation won’t go well with the impending acquisition. Though, Verizon originally agreed to pay $4.8 billion for Yahoo, but it is reportedly now seeking a $1 billion discount after the revelations of the breaches.