eBay - Botnet attempts to compromise user account security

This recently discovered botnet affecting eBay is highly sophisticated.  eBay users should use strong passwords and carefully monitor their accounts for any unusual activity.

PC World Article: Botnet Steals eBay Accounts
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136729-c,onlinesecurity/article.html

QUOTE: Identity thieves armed with a bruteforce botnet are uncovering valid eBay account data, a security firm says. The resulting botnet is being used to call an eBay application programming interface (API) with pairs of possible usernames and passwords, said Elzam. The API allows the Trojan horseinfected PC -- the bot -- to communicate directly with the eBay database using XML-formatted code. If the database contains the usernamepassword pair, it responds, which the Trojan horse notes, then later transmits to a hacker controlled server. With enough usernamepassword combinations -- the bruteforce part of the attack -- the criminals can uncovering a limited number of real credentials.

McAfee W/32 Ebbot information
http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_143063.htm

QUOTE: W32/Ebbot is a bot with password stealing capabilities designed to perform fraudolent activity aimed at eBay customers.  When started, the malware will immediately create a monitoring thread to be able to spoof user information. When correctly instructed, the malware will use the information gathered from the user in order to take advantage of the eBay developer API and retrieve the user token.