14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard’s Battle.net online service, which is mandatory for players of games like World of Warcraft, Starcraft, or Diablo, has been hacked, according to the large developer. The studio has revealed this in a public statement, confirming that sensitive data, including email addresses, has been stolen.
Security has been a tough problem for Blizzard’s Battle.net as plenty of nefarious individuals have targeted both the online system as well as its users in order to access sensitive data and items from games like World of Warcraft or Diablo 3.
Sadly, it seems that one such attack has succeeded, as Blizzard has now confirmed that its Battle.net service has been hacked.
“This week, our security team found an unauthorized and illegal access into our internal network here at Blizzard. At this time, we’ve found no evidence that financial information such as credit cards, billing addresses, or real names were compromised. Our investigation is ongoing, but so far nothing suggests that these pieces of information have been accessed.”
While truly sensitive data is safe, hackers still managed to steal certain things, starting with email addresses for all Battle.net users, to information about Battle.net Authenticators for people in North America.
“Some data was illegally accessed, including a list of email addresses for global Battle.net users, outside of China. For players on North American servers (which generally includes players from North America, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia) the answer to the personal security question, and information relating to Mobile and Dial-In Authenticators were also accessed. Based on what we currently know, this information alone is not enough for anyone to gain access to Battle.net accounts.”
Hackers even managed to get Battle.net passwords but, thankfully, they’re all encrypted, which makes deciphering them much harder.
“We also know that cryptographically scrambled versions of Battle.net passwords (not actual passwords) for players on North American servers were taken. As a precaution, however, we recommend that players on North American servers change their password. Moreover, if you have used the same or similar passwords for other purposes, you may want to consider changing those passwords as well.”
Blizzard will be sending out emails to North American users asking them to change their passwords. In the meantime, all Battle.net users should be wary of any emails they receive asking them to visit dubious links.