Nintendo hacked by LulzSec

Japanese gaming firm has server hacked but customer data is safe

Gaming giant Nintendo has become the latest high profile firm to have its systems hacked by LulzSec, the collective which has already managed to compromise the web site of US broadcasting service PBS and a Sony Pictures database.

The Japanese gaming firm revealed that hackers had managed to break into one of its US servers but said that no personal customer information had been compromised.

LulzSec posted a statement on its Twitter account saying that the group wasn't targeting Nintendo specifically.

"Re: Nintendo, we just got a config file and made it clear that we didn't mean any harm. Nintendo had already fixed it anyway," the group said.

Nonetheless, the incident again raises questions over the apparent ease with which well-known firms are being hacked.

Sony has been hit some 13 times already in the past few months, most recently by Lebanese hacker Idahc, who managed to hack a database of 120 usernames by employing a simple SQL injection technique.

LulzSec, meanwhile, has already hacked Sony numerous times, as well as the web site of US broadcasting service PBS.

Sophos senior technology consultant, Graham Cluley warned that the group was playing a dangerous game.

"As it continues to gain public attention through high profile hacks it is surely at risk of being investigated by the computer crime authorities," he wrote in a blog post.

"It seems to me that no-one should be complacent about their web security - whether a hacking group has an axe to grind against your company, or a criminal gang is hell bent on stealing information about your customers, you had better ensure that you have proper web security in place and your sites are well defended."