"The increased scale of the Yahoo breach underlines the risk that an acquirer can take on during an transaction. The sale price reduction from $4.8bn to $4.4bn, now seems to be fairly modest in light of the size of the issues that are becoming apparent.
"The breach now effects 3bn people worldwide – that is roughly 42% of the world's population, if each account were for an individual.
"Yahoo had suffered a declining position in the tech sector, and many of these accounts are unlikely to have ever been used. This reduces the risk of information from the accounts being leaked online.
"It is likely that a reduction in revenues led to a reduction in cyber security which is still seen as an internal cost, and this is a lesson to other businesses which see a decline in their position or sector. Cyber issues can undermine both new and old businesses alike, especially those with well-known brands."