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(CNBC.com): This would be a busy week for any tech CEO: One billion user accounts hacked, and a $4.83 billion deal on the line. Yet we haven’t heard a peep from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.
Yahoo has been the internet’s troubled child for the past few years — but things seemed to be looking up after Verizon agreed in July to acquire the company.
And then came a double whammy of data breaches.
Marissa Mayer, who has been at the helm as CEO of Yahoo for the past four years, has largely kept a low profile since the company announced the buyout.
Fast forward to the end of the year, with two mammoth hacks now publicly disclosed and the Verizon deal potentially in jeopardy — and Mayer still hasn’t made any statements.
Mayer made her most high-profile appearance in recent times last month at the Glamour Women of the Year Summit. She told the magazine she arrived at Yahoo during a “turbulent period” and learned two key lessons.
“Listening and removing barriers,” she said.
And that may be what she’s doing right now.
“Marissa and our executive team have been deeply engaged in our ongoing investigation,” Yahoo spokeswoman Suzanne Philion told NBC News.
Shuman Ghosemaumder, chief technology officer of Shape Security, a Google Ventures-backed firm, told NBC News one of the reasons Mayer might not be making a statement is because there are still unknowns — such as how the attacker got into Yahoo’s systems.
“As CEO, one of the difficulties in issuing any sort of statement is making sure you have enough of the facts so you can portray the situation in the most factual and positive light,” he said. “But when you don’t know how the attacker got in, it is difficult to say your systems are protected.”
The September breach and the latest one are receiving the “highest attention,” and are discussed in daily meetings involving Mayer, her executive team, and chief information security officer Bob Lord, a person familiar with the situation told NBC News. Yahoo is also said to be working closely with a variety of outside experts as it works to answer more questions about the breaches.
And now, Yahoo’s deal with Verizon could potentially be in jeopardy.
To read the rest of the report, click here.
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