Home Gaming EA may have been hacked, so you may wish to change your password

EA may have been hacked, so you may wish to change your password

2 min read
5

leaked

Over the weekend, a large database of usernames, passwords and other data were dumped to Pastebin. From the data, which also included a list of EA game titles, it’s incredibly likely that it comes from EA, suggesting that the company’s Origin accounts (now just called EA accounts) may have been compromised.

It’s quite possible that this breach isn’t exactly a news one – just that the details are now being shared to the seedy bits of the internet. Back in December, a number of Origin users discovered that people were illegitimately buying games on their accounts.

EA’s released a general blanket statement regarding the information leak:

“Privacy and security is our top priority at EA.  At this point, we have no indication that this list was obtained through an intrusion of our account databases.  In an abundance of caution, we’re taking steps to secure any account that has an EA or Origin user ID that matches the usernames on this list.  As always, we encourage all players to safeguard their account credentials and use unique usernames and passwords on all online accounts.”

Further to that, former EA community manager Sam Houston said that EA is frequently attacked, with hacker types trying to “get back” at the company for perceived ills.

“Gamers are often targeted with attacks, and with EA’s accounts tied into all of their games and their Origin e-commerce site, a gamer’s EA account can be very valuable. Gaining access to an EA account would enable a hacker to play any of their PC games purchased through Origin, and could potentially be used to play on a gamer’s account on a game connected via the EA account system. Those accounts are valuable not only for financial gain, but also for harassing or impersonating users. It’s also worth noting that this dump could just be someone targeting EA in response to something. Over the years, EA has been the target of a lot of ire from various gaming groups, so this could be a response to a particular issue that people are upset about.”

As always, if you think you have been affected by this – or any other – hacking info dump, head on over to Have I Been Pwned to check.

Last Updated: October 19, 2015

5 Comments

  1. Alien Emperor Trevor

    October 19, 2015 at 10:11

    “a number of Origin users discovered that people were illegitimately buying games on their accounts.”

    Those fiends, just imagine how my reputation would suffer if someone thought I was buying an EA game on Origin.

    Reply

    • Grand Admiral Chief

      October 19, 2015 at 10:26

      Hah, ‘reputation’, hahaha

      Reply

  2. Bagel

    October 19, 2015 at 10:23

    Now everyone will know i purchased Sims 4. Well fuck.

    Reply

    • Grand Admiral Chief

      October 19, 2015 at 10:25

      Busted

      Reply

  3. Commander JJ of the Normandy

    October 19, 2015 at 13:16

    I barely ever use Origin. But let me go change my password anyway, just in case it causes me even more inconvenience.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

FIFA and EA Split? How Did it Happen and What Now for the Future of the Franchise?

In life, there are many staples, peanut butter and jam, bread and a toaster, and in gaming…