GAME: Our website wasn't hacked!
Leaked account login details are bogus, says chain
Video games purveyor GAME says it has not been hacked after reports yesterday claimed that the retail biz had suffered a security breach.
A list that purported to be 200 email addresses and unprotected clear text passwords from GAME was posted on Pastebin, sparking widely reported hacking fears on Monday.
However, after checking the leaked data, GAME said the information was bogus and issued a statement saying that it had no evidence of any breach to its database security:
At GAME we guard our customers' details very carefully.We have thoroughly investigated the hacking claims made today by the website Pastebin, and can confirm that they are entirely false. The published email addresses are not registered users of GAME.co.uk, and there has been no breach of our database security.
We would like to assure all our customers that their details are well protected, and advise anyone who has any questions to contact our customer services team via the website, our Facebook page or Twitter account.
We've no reason to doubt GAME's statement, which raises questions on the motives of the prankster, who concocted the wad of login details and dumped them on Pastebin in the first place, and whether or not the data belongs to another site entirely. ®
COMMENTS
Posting fake user details online is the modern equivalent of ordering 10 pizzas to come to your boss' house.
It was probably a Hedge Fund
With a large short position in Game Shares
I strongly take offence to the wording of that canned statement from Game. It implies that pastebin is responsible for the leak, rather than the user who posted it. Right when the anti-SOPA movement is about as well, very poor.
Hmm.
1) Release bogus user credentials.
2) Wait for company to release statement that "The credentials are false, and you know why? Because we take security seriously. Don't worry, you're all safe."
3) Wait for dust to settle.
4) Hack company for real and post customer data on Pastebin.
5) Point and laugh.
Blame that on the PR department mangling the communication. The sysadmins at Game know what they are doing and what pastebin is.
