A Chip Off The Old Block: 1,800 Minecraft Account Credentials Leaked Online
Hackers have posted a list containing 1,800 usernames, passwords, and email addresses belonging to Minecraft players. While that represents a small fraction of the overall number of Minecraft players, those who appear on the list are at risk of having their accounts broke into by anyone who views the list, which has been made public on Pastebin.
German-language publication Heise first discovered the breach, noting that the information posted online could be used to log into the game under any of the compromised accounts. In addition to wreaking havoc with people's virtual worlds, it also allows unauthorized users to download full copies of the game, which normally sell for $26.95.
In addition, there's the potential to do even more harm by logging into other sites and services, assuming that a portion of those 1,800 compromised accounts use the same credentials for multiple sites. It's situations like this that underscore why it's important to at least use a different password at different online locations, especially banking portals.
Minecraft is one of the most popular games in the world, and with over 100 million registered users, a breach of 1,800 accounts appears relatively minor on the surface. However, as security guru Graham Cluely points out, the person or people responsible for the breach could be holding more compromised account details to be released at a later date.
Minecraft became a Microsoft property when the Redmond outfit purchased Mojang for $2.5 billion last year. At he time, Minecraft had sold 54 million copies across various console platforms, mobile devices, and on the PC.
German-language publication Heise first discovered the breach, noting that the information posted online could be used to log into the game under any of the compromised accounts. In addition to wreaking havoc with people's virtual worlds, it also allows unauthorized users to download full copies of the game, which normally sell for $26.95.
In addition, there's the potential to do even more harm by logging into other sites and services, assuming that a portion of those 1,800 compromised accounts use the same credentials for multiple sites. It's situations like this that underscore why it's important to at least use a different password at different online locations, especially banking portals.
Minecraft is one of the most popular games in the world, and with over 100 million registered users, a breach of 1,800 accounts appears relatively minor on the surface. However, as security guru Graham Cluely points out, the person or people responsible for the breach could be holding more compromised account details to be released at a later date.
Minecraft became a Microsoft property when the Redmond outfit purchased Mojang for $2.5 billion last year. At he time, Minecraft had sold 54 million copies across various console platforms, mobile devices, and on the PC.
