To make a detailed story short, online auction website eBay has been hacked and they’re recommending that all users change their passwords as soon as possible. User’s financial information, like credit card and PayPal details, remains secure but hackers have gained access to a collection of other information.
eBay suffered an intrusion between the end of February and the beginning of March this year but the hack was only detected about two weeks ago. Financial data wasn’t taken but user passwords, which were encrypted, and other user data like names, email addresses, physical addresses and phone numbers, all of which were unencrypted according to The Guardian, could have been accessed. The database holding this information was the subject of the cyberattack.
According to eBay, the attack came about due to hackers who “…compromised a small number of employee log-in credentials, allowing unauthorised access to eBay’s corporate network”.
An eBay spokesperson said “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. We know our customers trust us with their information, and we take seriously our commitment to maintaining a safe, secure and trusted global marketplace.”
If you have an eBay account, changing your password is your first step, while making password changes to any other online accounts that use the same login credentials (which hopefully you don’t have) is the next.
Source: The Guardian