Earlier this week, eBay revealed that an ongoing investigation of their own had revealed a a “small number” of employee login credentials had been compromised, giving attackers access to their corporate network.
Now, it appears that they will face external probes from various state Attorneys General.
“The magnitude of the reported eBay data breach could be of historic proportions, and my office is part of a group of other attorneys general in the country investigating the matter,” said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. “We must do everything in our power to protect consumers’ personal information, which is exactly why I worked with the Florida Legislature on the Florida Information Protection Act.”
That group also includes the state Attorneys General for Connecticut and Illinois.
“My office will be looking into the circumstances surrounding this breach as well as the steps eBay is taking to prevent any future incidents,” said Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen. “However, the most important step for consumers to take right now is to change their password and to choose a strong, unique password that is not easily guessed.”
According to eBay, the database that was breached contained names, encrypted passwords, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth–but eBay is claiming that no financial information was ever at risk.
Even so, the company urged all users to change their eBay passwords, as well as any other passwords that they shared among other services.
“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,” said eBay in a statement.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is urging eBay to offer free credit monitoring to all customers impacted by the hack.
“The news that eBay has discovered a security breach involving customer data is deeply concerning. New Yorkers and eBay customers across the country trust that retailers will protect their personal information when they shop online. Our office has asked and fully expects eBay to provide free credit monitoring services to customers impacted by this breach,” he said.
This would fall in line with what other high-profile companies, including Target, have done following a massive data breach.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
