Amazon Issues Password Warning Following Potential Security Slip Up
Amazon emails number of users advising password reset because of “improper” storage
Amazon has appeared to have suffered a security breach which has led to the retail giant asking customers to reset their account passwords.
An email was sent to a number of users yesterday warning that their password could be unsecure, possibly exposing their accounts to an unauthorised third party.
Third party
In the email, Amazon said that it had “recently discovered that your password may have been improperly stored on your device or transmitted to Amazon in a way that could potentially expose it to a third party”.
However, Amazon added: “We have corrected the issue to prevent this exposure.”
Whilst the specific number of users that received the email is not know, the figure appears to be relatively small.
TechWeekEurope has contacted Amazon but had not received a response at the time of publication.
It was just last week when Amazon started offering two-factor authentication to help customers protect themselves against having their accounts compromised.
From now on, those who choose to have the option activated can receive an authentication code sent to their mobile phone, which they have to enter on the site before a purchase can be confirmed.
In order to enable the new settings, users have to access their Advanced Security options in their Amazon account. From there, a page on two-step verification pops up with a description of how the process works.
Users can then choose one of two options on how to receive codes – either by receiving a text message or voice message containing a code sent straight to their phone, or by downloading an authenticator app to their device for when there is no connectivity available.
