A terrible misfortune befell users when the Path of Exile 2 data breach snatched the accounts of a few unfortunate players. However, one shouldn’t be fooled by the number of victims, cause things might turn for the worse if no action is taken. We at Infinite Start will cover how the situation unfolded.
Path of Exile 2 Data Breach explained
It has been discovered by the developers that social engineering attacks have been carried out by a Steam Account who used to be part of the administration team of Grinding Gear Games. However, said account was abandoned for a long period of time, with no proper security maintenance being done on it. Acquisition of this account was of utmost importance for the hacker to be able to cause such damage.
Social engineering attacks rely on trying to get your victim to disclose relevant information. This can be done by using multiple tactics, such as threats of something happening, this is called “scarewaring”. Having control of an admin account allows the attacker to pose as a proper member of the team, which may cause users to comply to any demand or threat.
However, this attack does not end here, it seems that the attacker might have also compromised the structure of Grinding Gear Games itself. By taking hold of various corporate information that can be then sold to the highest bidder on illegal virtual transactions.
The Path of Exile 2 data breach shows that its very important to keep you data integrity on check. By usage of proper password making techniques and being aware of this potential threats, its possible to prevent such attacks. Never disclose personal account information to anyone, usually the staff will never ask for passwords or private data.
What to do from here
Proper apologies seem to have been given to the users by developers at Grinding Gear Games. However, its important to always stay updated on data breaches like this, since you never know when it can be your turn to be part of them. A good tool to know if a password is unsafe or has been exposed to a breach is Have I Been Pwned. This can help users keep their safety to prevent any other incident similar to the Path of Exile 2 data breach in the future.
