AOL CEO Tim Armstrong: Yahoo Hack May Change Verizon Deal
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) said Thursday it continues to evaluate how Yahoo’s (NASDAQ:YAHOO) largest data breach in history will affect the acquisition of its internet business.
In an interview with FOX Business Network’s Liz Claman, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said additional information will be available after Yahoo finishes its investigation surrounding the cyber-attack impacted more than 1 billion user accounts.
“What the processes of the investigations are around the breach and really Verizon’s handling that directly with Yahoo and the Yahoo investigation is still on going,” Armstrong said at the Consumer Electronics Show of 2017.
The telecom giant acquired AOL in 2015 for $4.4 billion and has continued on its path to take over Yahoo’s struggling internet unit. Armstrong said any changes to that deal will be executed once Yahoo concludes its breach investigation.
“I think anytime you are buying an asset and there’s a change in the asset you know generally the deal terms will change but I think it’s early right now because Yahoo is still doing their investigation,” he said.
Armstrong said data security is extremely important involving a trust level with consumers and customers.
“I think data and security are a new reality and they have been a reality for years now but I think is coming more from the consumer forefront and coming more from the government forefront and business forefront,” Armstrong said.