eBay Network Hack: What was Accessed and Changing Your Password

eBay the popular online auction and commerce company urged its customers to change their password after a breach of its corporate networks that occurred in February. The company issued a press release this morning acknowledging the issue.

Apparently a corporate database containing encrypted passwords and so-called “other non-financial data” was compromised in the attack. According to the press release:

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.

Contrary to what some sites are reporting – PayPal was not affected. PayPal data is stored on a separate secure network with a higher rate of encryption.

The company went on to say that the attackers compromised a small number of employee log in information which provided unauthorized access to the corporate network. eBay is working with law enforcement and security companies to figure out what happened.

If you’re new to eBay or have never changed your password before, make sure to read: eBay Asking Users to Change Password, Here’s How.

Staying Secure Online

We are always writing about using the best methods to protect your data online, and this is another example of why it’s so important. If you are serious about protecting your important data online, make sure to read and follow the advice in the following articles:

• How to Create Strong Passwords You can Remember
• Create Strong Password Phrases You can Remember
• Enable Two-Factor Authentication on Every Online Service that Offers it

Convenience is the Enemy of online Security

The more we store our data online and in the cloud, the more seriously we need to take security. There are tools that help make the online security process easier like password managers. And enabling two-step authentication, or two-factor authentication (2FA) on every online service that offers it is essential. It is a pain to set up, but once you do, it’s really not that bad. To find out which sites offer 2FA check out this site.

Is using two-step authentication and strong passwords annoying? Yes. However, until more convenient tools are developed for everyone to use, you need to be inconvenienced a bit. But isn’t a couple of minutes and a few extra steps worth it to save your precious information online?

Also remember, that we have and will continue to write about all aspects of computer and Internet security. Make sure to check out our entire computer security archive!