Was There a Path of Exile 2 Data Breach?

Grinding Gear Games issued an official statement regarding the Path of Exile data breach problem which compromised multiple player accounts.

Grinding Gear Games posted an official statement regarding the data breach in Path of Exile 2. The developers apologized for the lapse in security which resulted in multiple accounts being compromised and allegedly along with their personal data. Grinding Gear Games assured players that they are working on fixing the security vulnerabilities in the game to make sure no more data breach issues will happen in the future.

The hack was revealed last week after employees noticed suspicious activities were being done using administrator access. According to the report, the data breach compromised at least 66 player accounts for both Path of Exile 1 and 2, changing their passwords and stealing in-game items.

Path of Exile Devs Apologize for Data Breach Which Resulted in Multiple Compromised Accounts

Through a post on the official Path of Exile website, Grinding Gear Games shares more information about the data breach which affected both installments of the franchise. “Last week we became aware that a PoE account with admin access to the website owned by one of our developers had been compromised. This gave them access to the tools that our customer support agents use.”

According to the post, the developers were able to lock the account before the attacker did any further damage. The developer account in question was apparently linked to an old Steam account meant for game testing. The perpetrator was able to grab hold of the account by submitting enough information to Steam support to grant him access to the account. 

What Data Was Stolen?

According to the official statement, the perpetrator may have gained access to the following information:

• Email Address if the account had one associated
• Steam ID if the account had one associated
• IP Addresses that the account had used
• Shipping address if the account had previously had physical goods sent
• The current Unlock Code for unlocking accounts locked due to logging in from a different region

Additionally, Grinding Gear Games elaborates on the post, revealing that the attacker also checks transaction histories for certain accounts. While no passwords or password hashes are accessible through the customer service portal, the company acknowledges that the attacker might compare email addresses against lists of compromised passwords from other websites.

This could allow the attacker to bypass region locking in accounts linked to Path of Exile 2 on Steam. Additionally, the attacker might also check private messages, the majority of which are from Grinding Gear Games employees.

Grinding Gear Games Promises To Improve Security

Data breaches like this can be very devastating for a gaming company. Such incidents can erode trust from its fanbase and community, which can take years to rebuild. Players expect their proper security measures to protect their personal information and account data in the game. When that trust is broken, it can lead to an exodus of players, decreased engagement, and even long-term damage to the brand’s reputation. 

Grinding Gear Games has promised to improve security measures, implementing stronger protocols to safeguard player data and prevent similar breaches in the future. “We have taken steps to ensure that there are more security measures around admin accounts so that this cannot happen again. No 3rd party accounts are allowed to be linked to any staff accounts, and we have added significantly more stringent IP restrictions.”

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