Yahoo has recently reduced its cybersecurity team, known as The Paranoids, by approximately 25% over the past year, according to information obtained by TechCrunch.
Since the beginning of 2024, Yahoo has seen a reduction of between 40 to 50 employees from the cybersecurity team, which originally consisted of 200 members. This data comes from current and former employees who spoke to TechCrunch anonymously, considering Yahoo is the parent company of TechCrunch.
The Paranoids weren’t the only team impacted by the layoffs. Valeri Liborski, who became Yahoo’s chief technology officer in September, informed employees of broader changes within the technology unit, including adjustments in enterprise productivity and core services. In an email obtained by TechCrunch, Liborski referred to the layoffs as a difficult decision, emphasizing they were not made lightly.
The red team of The Paranoids, which conducts simulated cyberattacks to identify vulnerabilities before external threats can exploit them, was entirely eliminated this week. Sources indicate that there have been at least three rounds of layoffs affecting the cybersecurity team throughout 2024.
Yahoo confirmed these layoffs, including the elimination of its red team, when contacted by TechCrunch on Thursday. Brenden Lee, a Yahoo spokesperson, commented, “Yahoo’s security program has matured significantly over the past seven years and is widely recognized as a world-class, industry-leading operation. As part of this evolution, we’ve made strategic adjustments, including transitioning offensive security operations to an outsourced model. This change reflects the sophistication of our program and enables us to concentrate resources on critical security priorities, maintaining the highest standards of protection for our users and platforms.”
Last year, Yahoo laid off over 1,600 employees, representing roughly 20% of its total workforce, as reported by Axios. Yahoo’s CEO, Jim Lanzone, stated that these layoffs would contribute to increased profitability and allow the company to focus on new business initiatives.