eBay hacked - change your password

San Francisco - Online auction house eBay asked millions of users on Wednesday to change their passwords after a cyber-attack exposed its database to hackers.

The California-based company said that hackers managed to penetrate its computer system by compromising a small number of employee log-in credentials. eBay said there was no evidence that the attack resulted in any unauthorized financial activity or that it affected users of its widely-used payments subsidiary PayPal.

"However, changing passwords is a best practice and will help enhance security for eBay users," the company said. eBay said the compromised database included eBay customers' name, encrypted password, email address, physical address, phone number and date of birth.

However, the database did not contain financial information or other confidential personal information. "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," the company said.

"We know our customers trust us with their information, and we take seriously our commitment to maintaining a safe, secure and trusted global marketplace."