148 Million EBay customers must reset passwords after major hack

Hackers quietly broke into eBay two months ago and stole a database full of user information, the online auction site revealed Wednesday.

Criminals now have possession of eBay customer names, account passwords, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers and birth dates.

The company said the passwords were encrypted, but there's no telling when or if the hackers can decrypt them. As a precaution, eBay is resetting everyone's passwords.

The company isn't saying how many of its 148 million active accounts were affected -- or even how many customers had information stored in that database. But an eBay spokeswoman said the hack impacted "a large number of accounts."

EBay's subsidiary, PayPal, said it was untouched by the data breach. PayPal data, which is sensitive because it includes payment information, is kept on a separate network.

To hack into the eBay database, the cyber attackers managed to get their hands on "a small number" of eBay employee log-in credentials, the company said. They then used that to worm their way into eBay's corporate network. The hackers grabbed the customer database between late February and early March.

It wasn't until two weeks ago that eBay discovered employee credentials had been stolen, the company said. The company then conducted a forensic investigation of its computers and found the extent of the theft.

The company said it hasn't spotted any increase in fraudulent activity on eBay yet.

This is only the latest major data breach compromising people's digital lives. In April, AOL announced hackers stole "a significant number" of its 120 million users' email addresses, passwords, contact lists and more.

CryptoLocker crooks launch new 'customer service' website for victims

Computer experts are stressing the importance of data protection as the 'Cryptolocker' virus spreads. 

The virus, usually installed through unwanted attachments on emails or through questionable websites, encrypts information on computers that, in most cases, cannot be undone.  Hackers force users to pay money to get their information back.

"You cannot get it decrypted," explained Rob Shiras with IT Headquarters in West Seattle, "You have to send them money to get out of trouble."

Shiras said his office sees one computer infected with 'Cryptolocker' every week.  Most decide to wipe their hard drive, but recently, someone chose to pay the ransom.

"They gave him 72 hours," recalled Shiras, "He thought about it for 48 hours and said, I need my pictures."

'Cryptolocker' is not a new virus, but it continues to plague computer owners and bother law enforcement.

Inside the U.S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Taskforce Computer Lab in Seattle, a variety of agencies chase leads on cyber crime, including Cryptolocker.

"There is a substantial amount of crime that's just homegrown in the U.S.," said Special Agent in Charge Robert Kierstead, "We also see a lot of action in Eastern Europe."

The Secret Service has branches abroad to help track cyber criminals down, but even law enforcement admit Cryptolocker is the worst kind of virus.

Shiras said once a computer is infected with Cryptolocker, little can be done to retrieve the information lost.  Even paying the ransom does not ensure the data is returned.

The key, Shiras and Kierstead said, is prevention ahead of time.  That includes avoiding questionable websites, not opening emails with attachments from strangers and backing up hard drives regularly.