Massive Steam Glitch Threatens User Information, Randomly Logs People Into Different Accounts
UPDATE: A Valve spokesperson has confirmed that Steam is now back up without issues. A configuration change earlier today produced a caching issue that allowed users to view randomly generated pages.
Valve also confirmed that no unauthorized actions were permitted while accessing other accounts. No additional action is required by Steam users to safeguard their data.
UPDATE: Valve has yet to issue an official statement regarding the breach. While the service has gone back up, we still advise people NOT to touch anything on their accounts.
It might not be a good idea to log into Steam for the holidays.
A massively widespread glitch hit Steam, Valve’s videogame market, on Christmas day as users who logged in found themselves in other people’s accounts.
Last Friday, hundreds of thousands of users of the gaming platform who logged in using their account details were randomly redirected into the accounts of complete strangers. People were able to find other user’s gaming libraries, including sensitive information such as home addresses and even credit card information.
While Valve is still silent on the issue, the company has shut down the service within hours of the glitch being reported. Twitter is exploding with reports that the glitch has allowed users to make credit card purchases on accounts that they do not own.
This is giving peoples personal information away, including actual address. What the hell is going on?
— John Bain (@Totalbiscuit) December 25, 2015
While the security breach has caused panic among the gaming community, the prevailing wisdom is that users should not touch their accounts nor click on any links that directs to the Steam market in order to minimize risk. Barring Valve’s official word on the issue, users are advised not to attempt to retrieve their account details for the time being.
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