No catchy lead for this story; just the alarming truth. Online shopping/bidding giant EBay was hacked…months ago.
EBay was hacked between February and March 2014. It’s believed usernames, passwords, and non-financial information may have been compromised. They claim they were aware of the breach only a couple of weeks ago. The online bidding giant insists no fraud was done and nobody was ripped off. EBay urges customers to change their password, whether they were hit or not. From all the reports I’ve researched, Pay Pal, a pay service created out of EBay, has not been hit. That’s a relief and a blessing right there. We don’t want that can of worms opened.
Some security experts see other issues playing out. Some criticized EBay for not telling the public for weeks and not discovering it for months. Some say the time for passwords is almost over. Richard Parris, author of online security website Intercede, suggests websites need to find new ways of authorization. Mr. Parris suggests a system like two-factor authentication, kind of like what we use in our banking system. For example, when a log on to check what’s on my debit card, I have to go through a password, then answer a question only I would know (ex. What was your first pet’s name? Who was your kindergarten teacher?) I have to agree with Parris’s assessment. First of all, how many of us have problems forgetting or mixing up passwords? How many cases have we heard of hackers obtaining passwords? What should, or what can be done, to keep us safe online?