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Customer Security Explanation (Altaba / Yahoo (2018))

Use this to explain a security topic or incident to customers in clear, non-technical language; supports notification obligations and trust.


Purpose

This explanation translates technical and legal context from Altaba / Yahoo (2018) into clear customer-facing language, focusing on what happened, what protections are in place, and what customers should do. It supports transparent communication while remaining aligned with counsel-reviewed facts.

Hallucinated writing examples

Scenario: In an illustrative period following the SEC April 2018 cease-and-desist order on delayed breach disclosure (time), the Security Director (role) prepares a customer security explanation (type) for leadership stakeholders (audience).

CUSTOMER NOTICE — DATA SECURITY INCIDENT

Date: May 28, 2018
Subject: Important information about Yahoo cybersecurity disclosures and customer updates

What Happened: Historical incidents involved unauthorized access to user account data as described in prior disclosures. The Company has continued to refine escalation and governance controls following regulatory scrutiny.

What Information Was Involved: Affected information categories were detailed in prior incident notices and regulatory materials. Updates are provided through official channels as validated information becomes available.

What We Are Doing: We are improving incident escalation, evidence retention, and governance review processes to support accurate and timely communications.

What You Can Do: Customers should follow official Yahoo channels for updates, strengthen account protection settings, and report suspicious messages through support channels listed at [URL].

Document-type guide: Customer Security Explanation

Writing tips: Writing best practices — Customer Security Explanation

© 2026 Yi Zhang. Licensed under the MIT License.
Last updated: 2026 April 17 9:37 AM