eBay is urging customers to change password information after a cyberattack allowed unauthorized access to names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. The attack also compromised a “small number of employee log-in credentials,” meaning the cyber attackers gained access to the corporate network.
An eBay spokesperson told Reuters that there may be a “large number of accounts involved,” but declined to give specific numbers.
Given the severity of the incident, eBay said in a press release today that all customers will be advised to change their passwords. eBay’s shares were down slightly on the news.
eBay is just the latest retailer to suffer from data breaches, with Target still reeling from the impact of an attack last November. Just today, Target addressed the data breach in its earnings report, noting that it is unable to estimate future expenses related to the data breach.
“Expenses may include payments associated with potential claims by the payment card networks for alleged counterfeit fraud losses and non-ordinary course operating expenses (such as card re-issuance costs), REDcard fraud and card re-issuance expense, payments associated with civil litigation, governmental investigations and enforcement proceedings, expenses for legal, investigative and consulting fees, and incremental expenses and capital investments for remediation activities,” the company wrote. “These costs may have a material adverse effect on Target’s results of operations in second quarter and full-year 2014 and future periods.”
Here’s the full press release that eBay issued on the situation:
eBay Inc. said beginning later today it will be asking eBay users to change their passwords because of a cyberattack that compromised a database containing encrypted passwords and other non-financial data. After conducting extensive tests on its networks, the company said it has no evidence of the compromise resulting in unauthorized activity for eBay users, and no evidence of any unauthorized access to financial or credit card information, which is stored separately in encrypted formats. However, changing passwords is a best practice and will help enhance security for eBay users.
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.
Cyberattackers compromised a small number of employee log-in credentials, allowing unauthorized access to eBay’s corporate network, the company said. Working with law enforcement and leading security experts, the company is aggressively investigating the matter and applying the best forensics tools and practices to protect customers.
The database, which was compromised between late February and early March, 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. The company said that the compromised employee log-in credentials were first detected about two weeks ago. Extensive forensics subsequently identified the compromised eBay database, resulting in the company’s announcement today.
The company said it has seen no indication of increased fraudulent account activity on eBay. The company also said it has no evidence of unauthorized access or compromises to personal or financial information for PayPal users. PayPal data is stored separately on a secure network, and all PayPal financial information is encrypted.
Beginning later today, eBay users will be notified via email, site communications and other marketing channels to change their password. In addition to asking users to change their eBay password, the company said it also is encouraging any eBay user who utilized the same password on other sites to change those passwords, too. The same password should never be used across multiple sites or accounts.
