Valve Confirms: Steam User Data Safe from Hack

Valve has refuted recent reports claiming its Steam platform experienced a "major" data hack, emphasizing that there was "NOT a breach" of Steam systems.

Despite concerns from some users about reports suggesting over 89 million user records were compromised, Steam's thorough investigation revealed that the incident involved only a leak of "older text messages." These messages contained one-time code SMSs, but crucially, they did not include any personal data.

In a statement posted on Steam, Valve clarified that after analyzing the leak sample, it concluded that customer data remained secure. The statement read: "The leak consisted of older text messages that included one-time codes valid for only 15-minute time frames, along with the phone numbers to which they were sent. Importantly, the leaked data did not link the phone numbers to any Steam account, nor did it include passwords, payment information, or other personal data."

Valve further reassured users, stating, "Old text messages cannot be used to breach the security of your Steam account. Additionally, whenever a code is used to change your Steam email or password via SMS, you will receive a confirmation via email and/or Steam secure messages."

Given the increasing frequency of data breaches and the fact that over 89 million individuals have Steam accounts, users were understandably concerned about potential security threats. The most infamous video game-related data breach occurred in 2011, when the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable networks were severely compromised, leading to a near month-long outage and the compromise of 77 million accounts.

Moreover, it's not only customer data at risk. Just last October, Pokémon developer Game Freak suffered a significant hack, resulting in the leakage of data about its former and current staff, as well as details about its development pipeline. A year earlier, in 2023, Sony confirmed that data from nearly 7,000 of its current and former employees was compromised in two separate breaches. In December 2023, hackers breached confidential data at Marvel's Spider-Man developer, Insomniac, highlighting the ongoing vulnerability of the gaming industry to cyber threats.