Ebay hacked: Users asked to change passwords

[LazyLion]

Online auction house eBay asked millions of users Wednesday to change their passwords after a cyber-attack exposed its database to hackers. The California-based company said that hackers managed to penetrate its computer system by compromising a small number of employee log-in credentials. eBay said there was no evidence that the attack resulted in any unauthorized financial activity or that it affected users of its widely-used payments subsidiary PayPal. "However, changing passwords is a best practice and will help enhance security for eBay users," the company said. eBay said the compromised database included eBay customers' name, encrypted password, email address, physical address, phone number and date of birth. However, the database did not contain financial information or other confidential personal information. "Information security and customer data protection are of paramount importance to eBay Inc., and eBay regrets any inconvenience or concern that this password reset may cause our customers," the company said. "We know our customers trust us with their information, and we take seriously our commitment to maintaining a safe, secure and trusted global marketplace."


Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 21 May 2014 16:18

 

[LazyLion]

NUMBER OF EBAY USERS AT RISK FROM BREACH: 145 MN

US online giant eBay said Thursday the number of users potentially affected by a massive data breach could be as many as 145 million.

"All eBay users are being asked to change their password," a spokeswoman said in an email on Thursday.

"At the end of the first quarter, we had 145 million active buyers."

The number is higher than the 128 million active users cited on the eBay website.

The company disclosed Wednesday that cyberattackers broke into its database containing customer passwords and other personal data in what could be one of the biggest breaches of its kind.

An eBay statement said the database was compromised between late February and early March and "included eBay customers' name, encrypted password, email address, physical address, phone number and date of birth."

But it added that it "did not contain financial information or other confidential personal information." The attack did not affect data from PayPal, the finance and payments unit of the company.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 22 May 2014 16:03