1 billion Yahoo accounts on sale, despite hacking indictments: Report

US Federal prosecutors unsealed indictments this week against four Russian men, including two hackers and two intelligence officers, responsible for a 2014 intrusion into Yahoo’s systems that affected 500 million user accounts.

US Federal prosecutors unsealed indictments this week against four Russian men, including two hackers and two intelligence officers, responsible for a 2014 intrusion into Yahoo’s systems that affected 500 million user accounts. (AFP)

One billion Yahoo accounts are up for sale at $200,000 or best offer, a media report has said.

The passwords do not work, but the dates of birth, telephone numbers and security questions could still be useful to an adept cyberthief, a New York Times report said.

US Federal prosecutors unsealed indictments this week against four Russian men, including two hackers and two intelligence officers, responsible for a 2014 intrusion into Yahoo's systems that affected 500 million user accounts.

Despite this, data on one billion accounts - stolen in another attack on the company in 2013 - appeared to remain available on underground hacker forums on Friday, the NYT report added.

The authorities were tight-lipped about their investigation of the 2013 attack, which is the largest known breach of a private company's computer systems. The 2014 hacking of Yahoo's servers is the second largest.

"We're not willing to comment right now if there is a connection between the two investigations," Malcolm Palmore, who oversees the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cybersecurity division in San Francisco, said on Wednesday in a brief interview after the government unveiled the indictments.