Brett Molina and Elizabeth Weise, of USA TODAY EBay urging users to change passwords after breach
Online marketplace eBay says it will urge users to change their passwords following a "cyberattack" impacting a database with encrypted passwords and non-financial data.
The database includes information such as customers' names, encrypted passwords, email and physical addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. As of the end of their first quarter, the company has 145 million active buyers.
In a statement released Wednesday, eBay says it has not found evidence of unauthorized activity or access to financial information, based on "extensive" tests. The company says financial data was not affected, pointing out credit card information is encrypted and stored separately from this database.
"We know our customers trust us with their information, and we take seriously our commitment to maintaining a safe, secure and trusted global marketplace," reads a company statement.
EBay is also urging people who used the same password on other sites to change those passwords as well. EBay has seen no breach of their related PayPal accounts as those are on a separate secure encrypted system.
Hackers stole information on 40 million customers.
Hackers swiped financial information on 40 million customers.
10:39 AM PT: eBay Wants You To Change Your Password Because It Was Hacked
Hackers gained unauthorized access to a database that included eBay customers' names, home addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords. eBay said that financial information like credit card numbers were stored separately and were not compromised. Encouragingly, the company said it has seen no fraudulent activity as a result of the hack.
The cyberattack took place between late February and early March of this year, but eBay only detected it two weeks ago. The company plans to email customers about the security breach and tell them to change their passwords on eBay and any other website where the same password is used.
When asked how many people were affected by the attack, eBay referred the Huffington Post to a webpage that simply states the company is asking all 145 million of its active buyers to change their passwords.
11:02 AM PT: Thanks to Portia Elm for calling my attention to an ambiguous title wording.
