Video game hacking MEGA THREAD Oh noes!! (Merged)

Personal data stolen from UK developer Codemasters

By Daniel Emery Technology reporter, BBC News

The personal details of thousands of people have been stolen after hackers targeted British games developer Codemasters.

The firm described the data theft as "significant" saying names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth were all taken on 3 June.

However, it said that payment details were not compromised.

The latest security breach comes in the midst of a spate of hacker attacks, including several against Sony.

Codemasters said it took the compromised website offline as "as soon as the intrusion was detected".

Probe

A subsequent investigation revealed that hackers managed to take the personal details of thousands of users, including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth, passwords, IP addresses, XBox gamer tags, and biographies.

In an e-mail sent to some of its customers, the firm advised users to "change any passwords you have associated with other Codemasters accounts.

"If you use the same login information for other sites, you should change that information too.

"Furthermore, be extra cautious of potential scams, via email, phone, or post that ask you for personal or sensitive information."

A spokesperson for Codemasters told BBC News that they still had no idea who targeted their sites, or how many people had their details compromised, although they said that it would affect tens of thousands of users.

Codemasters said its website - codemasters.com - would remain offline "for the foreseeable future" with users being directed to its Facebook page.

Brad Langford from Manchester contacted the BBC after receiving an e-mail from Codemasters, warning that his personal details may have been taken.

He said: "Sensitive information such as date of birth, and some times postal address are tools to hackers who try and steal identities.

"Does a company like Codemasters or any video game company really require such sensitive information? In my opinion - no."

Another Codemasters website user, Leanne Lee from Eastbourne, accused the company of being slow to respond.

"I was a little shocked that it took them a week to let us all know and an impersonal e-mail with no follow up on their Facebook group either except a brief post in their discussion board section.

"We should have been informed as soon as they had taken down the site," she said.

Sega says hackers stole data of 1.29 million users

Sega is the latest games company to be hacked after attacks on Sony, Nintendo and others


Sega has confirmed that the personal data of 1.29 million of its customers was stolen in an attack on its systems.

It comes after the computer games firm said on Friday that e-mail addresses and dates of birth stored on the Sega Pass database were accessed by hackers.

However, Sega continues to say that payment information, such as credit card numbers, remained safe.

Sega spokeswoman Yoko Nagasawa said: "We are deeply sorry for causing trouble to our customers."

She added: "We want to work on strengthening security."

Ms Nagasawa added that it was not yet known when the Sega Pass online network could be restarted.
'Investigation'

In an e-mail sent to Sega Pass users on Friday, the company wrote: "Over the last 24 hours we have identified that unauthorised entry was gained to our Sega Pass database.

"We immediately took the appropriate action to protect our consumers' data and isolate the location of the breach. We have launched an investigation into the extent of the breach of our public systems."

Sega explained that it had reset all passwords and urged customers to change their log-on details on other services and websites where they used the same credentials.

It added that password details had not been stored in plain text, suggesting that they may have been secured by some kind of encryption.

Sega is the latest in a line of games companies to suffer hacking and denial of service attacks on their online services.

Nintendo, Sony and several multi-player gaming communities have been hit in recent months.

The hacker group Lulz Security, which has been involved in a number of high profile attacks, including one against Sega rival Nintento, has denied involvement in the Sega case.

Instead it showed some sympathy for the company on its Twitter feed.

"We want to help you destroy the hackers that attacked you. We love the Dreamcast, these people are going down," it said.

LulzSec hacking group announces end to cyber attacks


A hacker group that has attacked several high-profile websites over the last two months has announced that it is disbanding.
Lulz Security made its announcement through its Twitter account, giving no reason for its decision.
A statement published on a file-sharing website said that its "planned 50-day cruise has expired".
The group leapt to prominence by carrying out attacks on companies such as Sony and Nintendo.
Broadcasters Fox and PBS, the CIA, and the United States Senate have also been cyber-attacked by the group.
As a parting shot, the group released a selection of documents apparently including confidential material taken from the Arizona police department and US telecoms giant AT&T.
Correspondents say LulzSec's announcement could be a sign that its members are nervous because of recent police investigations, including the arrest of a British man suspected of links to the group, and efforts by rival hackers to expose them.
The group's identities remain anonymous and it has not been possible to contact its members directly to confirm its statement.
The statement said that "our crew of six wishes you a happy 2011".
"So with those last thoughts, it's time to say bon voyage," it added.
"Our planned 50 day cruise has expired, and we must now sail into the distance, leaving behind - we hope - inspiration, fear, denial, happiness, approval, disapproval, mockery, embarrassment, thoughtfulness, jealousy, hate, even love. If anything, we hope we had a microscopic impact on someone, somewhere."

But LulzSec urged its supporters to carry on.

"We hope, wish, even beg, that the movement manifests itself into a revolution that can continue on without us," the statement said.
"Please don't stop. Together, united, we can stomp down our common oppressors and imbue ourselves with the power and freedom we deserve."
The group had previously told the BBC's Newsnight programme that it wanted to target the "higher ups" who write the rules and "bring them down a few notches".
In an online Q&A, the hacker known as Whirlpool, who described himself as "captain of the Lulz Boat", said that while the group had begun hacking "for laughs" - for which the word "lulz" is cyber-slang - it evolved into "politically motivated ethical hacking".

And in an interview with the Associated Press on Friday, a LulzSec member said the group had at least five gigabytes of "government and law enforcement data" from around the world, which it planned to release in the next three weeks.

Ryan Cleary, 19, from Wickford, Essex, was arrested as part of a Scotland Yard and FBI probe into LulzSec and charged with hacking the website of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency.