Billabong, a popular Australian clothing retailer, was a recent victim of online hacking wherein 35,000 of Billabong username and passwords were exposed online. Despite the hacking being exposed last week, the hacked usernames and passwords are still visibile online.

The information was first revealed through Twitter through a group called "WikiBoat". All of the hacked information were posted on the website called codepaste.net, a website where developers share information regarding computer code. Billabong is said to be having a hard time to remove the information from the website.

John Mossop, the spokesperson for Billabong said that the company is already aware of the attack and the company has already taken steps to address the privacy and security issues associated with this hacking. Mossop also mentioned that Billabong has already reported this incident to the authorities and the Australian Privacy Commission. Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgirm verified this information stating that Billabong has already disclosed the steps that the company is doing in order to protect its site and to identify the effects of this hacking attack. He also added in his statement that "Billabong has undertaken to provide me with a further update on the extent of the breach and what further steps they are taking in respect of this matter."

John Mossop further explained that the stolen data were email addresses and log-in information of customers who joined the Billabong event promotions from the year 2006-2011. Most of the Billabong customers who were affected by the hacking situation were customers from the U.S. Only about 200 Australian customers were affected by this hacking incident. He also added that Billabong "routinely encrypted customer data and the existence of plain text customer data was isolated". Mossop also clarified that no financial date was stolen and only personal information was at risk from this incident. Most of the victims that were affected by the Billabong hacking were already informed about this attack and were advised to change their passwords.

Billabong goods are available through more than 100 countries, half wholesale and half retail. Online purchases make up for about 4% of global sales.

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