Hackers raid World of Warcraft game servers

Battle.net, the service that hosts videogames company Blizzard's massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft, has come under attack from hackers, according to a security update on the game's website.

Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of the Activision-owned company, told concerned players that "an unauthorized and illegal access" had been detected on Battle.net's servers and that "some data was illegally accessed".

Email address lists for global Battle.net users – excluding China – says Morhaime, were accessed, but North American players have also had the answers to their personal security questions compromised.

Morhaime also admitted that "cryptographically scrambled" versions of Battle.net passwords for North American server players were taken, but that Blizzard's SRP (Secure Remote Password protocol) should protect them.
It should be noted, however, that 'North America' typically extends to Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

Morhaime's statement said that, at the current stage of an ongoing investigation, Blizzard has "found no evidence that financial information such as credit cards, billing addresses or real names were compromised."

Blizzard suggests that players change their passwords, and will also be adding facilities to force players to change their hint questions "in the coming days".

The Battle.net hack is the latest in a spate of recent high-profile intrusions, which include Yahoo, LinkedIn, RSA and fellow games company Sony.