Nintendo reveals major privacy breach of 140k additional accounts

Nintendo, a Japan-based consumer electronics & video game company, has recently updated a notice on a major privacy breach. On top of the 160,000 accounts being compromised during the initial hack in April, 140,000 additional accounts are expected to have been accessed maliciously. The company has reportedly stated that the account breach was linked to the system of Nintendo Network ID login.

The gaming giant has warned the impacted accounts that the 3rd party might have gain access to personal information including nicknames, regions, birthdays, and email addresses. Additionally, fraudulent purchases from the hacked Nintendo accounts could have been made in eShop. The unauthorized access to the users’ private accounts, however, did not include the credit card information.

Sources familiar with the matter have stated that the Nintendo users were complaining about several instances of hackers spending a large sum on Fortnite currency as well as other goods, prior to the announcement of the privacy breach in April. Nintendo users used social media platforms to put in complaints about the hackers gaining access to their accounts. Their attached payment card info was also reportedly abused by hackers to purchase Fortnite currency & other Nintendo currency.

In order to counter this unauthorized access, the company has disabled the login process using the Nintendo Network ID. In addition, the passwords of the impacted user accounts will be reset. Further incidents of any further account breach will be notified to the users via email. The company is also recommending users to set up 2-step verification for their Nintendo accounts.

The Japanese company reportedly expressed regret regarding the inconvenience caused to the customers and other related parties. It is currently focusing on strengthening the security as well as ensuring the accounts’ safety to prevent the occurrence of similar events in the future.

Nintendo did not immediately respond to requests for additional comments.

Source credit:

https://www.cnet.com/news/nintendo-reveals-additional-140000-accounts-were-hacked/