Users of the popular e-commerce website eBay were surprised to find that the company’s email logo was replaced by the image of a nude woman. The exact cause of the incident is not yet known, although information security services experts fear that it is the attack of a dangerous group of malicious hackers.
Site users who receive notifications from the
Microsoft Outlook app appear to be the only ones affected. This group of users
found a photo of a topless brunette woman instead of the company’s traditional
logo when trying to track the shipment of their orders.
With lots of doubts due to the incident,
sellers and customers tried to get more details through the company’s social
media profiles. The Twitter user @chlo_imrie, for example, posted the modified
logo image, tagging eBay in the post and asking, “Why this image is in the
company’s email, I don’t understand”.
A company spokesman said: “Our team of information security services experts is working with Microsoft, which is one of our main email service providers for eBay users in the UK.” This statement suggests that the incident occurred in the tech giant, not on eBay. “Both companies are working to address the incident,” the spokesman added.
Although most of the affected users who posted
on the company’s Twitter profile regarded this incident as anecdotal, and even a
funny accident, it may not all be good news. According to information security
services specialists from the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS),
a dangerous hacker group could be found behind this incident, so the company’s
security teams should not stop monitor eBay’s systems looking for any evidence
of intrusion: “Any possible explanation for this incident must be
considered, at least until the company concludes its investigation and
determines the origin of this event,” the experts note.
