Steam hacked

Wes R

BBC News - Valve's online game service Steam hit by

Amish Trooper

Great... I'm an regular user of Steam

Kerr Avon

Glad I don't store my CC information in it.

simplecomplex

I was under the impression that it was primarily forum accounts that had been compromised, was it regular accounts also? You'd think with all the updates they're constantly pushing out that it'd be uber-secure.

Wes R

Everything got hacked. I thought i deleted our CC info from it but nope. We'll just have to keep an eye on that card. I thought we'd be safe as the card went bad in april but this was the new version of it we had. I think. I could be wrong but still it sucks. Microsoft seems to be the only one with no issues and i deleted my stuff from them too.

PepMaster

I call it a gut feeling but I have reason to believe that it was one of the childish idiots on the Facepunch forums behind it.

Satxer

Ya know, I am getting kinda annoyed by these idiots hacking all the game stuff...not so much that they have my address and whatnot(as you can get that so easily nowadays anyway), but that I have to change passwords I have used for a while, or that I have to watch my account stuff like a hawk.

Granted, I don't believe I used a credit card through steam, and if I did, it isn't valid. I normally use my paypal through there, IF I buy anything, which is really not often. So...I don't know what I need to do about that.

I notice that it was done on Nov 6th? I know I have played on there since, and I see they can't confirm that they got any kind of CC information, so I'd be interested on a confirmation to yes or no.

Between this and the Sony Hack, I am getting rather fed up. Go use your 'puter skills for something worth while.

Wes R

I use paypal anymore. Only thing i used CC for is amazon and a few other things that won't bother. Half the time theses guys don't even take the credit info, they do it just to make the companies look bad. What annoys me about sony is it sounds like the games won't play on the ps3 if it can't connect. My mom watches her card statements like hawk anyhow but i let her know just to be extra safe. We had a scare like this with one of her cards before when info got lost but nothing ever came of it.

Satxer

I don't think I am as worried about this one, based on not using the CC's through it. Sony was a different story, as I did have a credit card for SWG. PSN I only used the game cards.

Wes R

I am rather annoyed that none of us steam members even got an email telling us this happened, it's not like all members hang on the forums.

Satxer

Yeah, I don't ever visit the steam forums either. So, I wouldn't of even noticed it, had I not randomly decided to check the RPF.

Wes R

Good thing i scan bbc news all day.

Solo4114

Honestly, even if you do use a credit card on there, it's not a huge deal. You cancel the card, get a new one in a few days, and you're good to go. No biggie. That's the part of this that strikes me as so stupid. Even if they get your card, once these things get publicized, people watch all their charges, dispute anything they didn't authorize, and cancel the card immediately anyway. I use my debit card on Steam, but I'm not actually that worried. It's not like they can clean out my bank account in seconds, and if they do, I'll take it out of the bank's hide.

Wes R

True mom's keeping an eye on her card. She won't cancel the card yet because we have stuff pending on it but there are so many numbers on there that they'd never be able to use them all. you're more likely to get your card hacked by a cashier at a department store with a portable reader.

Hebinator

I'm super p@#$'d that I haven't even received an e-mail from Valve, I have to read it in the news. Bad form Valve!

Solo4114

I expect they're not releasing a big news story or email until they assess the full scope of things, so as to avoid a massive and needless scare. "ZOMG!! EVERYONE CANCEL YOUR STEAM ACCOUNT!!!11!!" is probably the reaction they're concerned about.

Hebinator

I think when it comes to data privacy, full disclosure immediately is always the best policy. Obviously they can say, "Hey guys, this happened but we're not sure about the scope yet." At least let people know that it happened as soon as possible.

Satxer

So, do we assume they suggest people don't play for now?

Hebinator

Just change your password. Should be fine.

Solo4114

I work in an area of law where data privacy issues come into play, and that's generally NOT how we handle the situation. You have to know (1) what was disclosed/breached, (2) how much of it was disclosed, (3) how long ago the disclosure happened, (4) what kind of risk you're actually talking about, etc.

Just saying "There was a breach of data" doesn't really help and is more likely to cause a panic. What data? What's the real risk here? Is this a big deal? Whose data was taken? Is every account affected? Did they get financial info? Home addresses? Other sensitive ID information? Or did they just raid everyone's profile page to make it say something about enjoying the male member?

If I'm running the company, the MOST I'll do is say there was a hacking attempt, some data MAY have been taken, and we're currently doing everything we can to figure out what was taken, how much of it, etc., and by whom. We're working with the authorities on this, and will keep our customers updated with details once we know them ourselves.

A statement like that (A) at least gives folks a heads-up that SOMETHING is up, but (B) also cuts down on wild speculation by making it clear that we do not know the full scope and nature of the breach, but we're workin' on it.


--EDIT--

Also, I'd feel perfectly fine PLAYING right now. If anything, it'd show that someone else isn't on your account. Change your password, go play, and if you get booted off with a "You have logged in elsewhere" you know something's up. Otherwise, keep a weather eye on your credit card/bank account/paypal account info, and report fraud ASAP if you see it.

The sad part about this and stuff like identity theft is that it happens so often nowadays, that credit card companies and banks are better prepared to deal with it when it happens. I had my identity a few years back, and it was taken care of pretty easily. My credit card company helped me, the ratings agencies got my account scrubbed, and really all I needed to do was fill out an affidavit and have it notarized. For fraud charges, I just dispute the charge and let my 800lb gorilla go fight on my behalf.

Hebinator

That's what I was saying. Communication is always better than secrecy when it comes to data that people have entrusted you to. How do you think it makes me feel when instead of hearing it from the horses mouth (Valve), I heard it on some news website. I'm not expecting that they are going to have all of the details right away but I do expect that they are going to inform me that a breach happened as soon as they know so I can start taking measures to protect myself.

Solo4114

Well, telling the BBC isn't a bad second place option, in my opinion.

Hebinator

I guess I should count my lucky stars that I found out at all

CB2001

I'm going to update my password, just to cover my bases. Thank god I never included my credit card info.

Goodwolf

If they did get my CC info, they're still out of luck. I shut the account listed in my steam account down a couple weeks ago and switched to a credit union.