Ubisoft has officially issued a security advisory that confirms the company’s networks experienced a “cyber security incident”. It seems there was a failed attempt at compromising the company"s security, but Ubisoft has initiated a company-wide password reset as a precaution.
Despite what Ubisoft is suggesting, the security incident doesn’t appear to be trivial. This is because some of the services that Ubisoft offers had gone down temporarily. The French video game developer and publisher has, however, insisted that none of the systems were actually compromised, and more specifically, no player data has been compromised. At the time of writing, all of the games and services that Ubisoft offers, are functioning normally.
Ubisoft added that its own internal IT teams are working with “leading experts” to investigate the incident. However, as a safety precaution, the company has reset all passwords. Hence, Ubisoft’s employees, and perhaps even its partners, will have to update their passwords.
While it might not be necessary, gamers too should consider changing their passwords, and enabling two-factor authentication on every account that offers the facility. Although a little cumbersome, the added layer of user authentication significantly reduces the chances of accounts getting compromised.
The company mentioned that the security incident failed to obtain or reach personal information. Incidentally, no hacking group has claimed responsibility for the security incident yet. This suggests that attackers may have merely triggered alarms but failed to extract or compromise any sensitive information.
It appears Ubisoft has joined an alarmingly growing list of companies suffering from cybersecurity threats and attacks. Multiple companies including Vodafone and Samsung are investigating similar incidents.