Nintendo confirmed that an additional 140,000 accounts were compromised in a Nintendo Network ID hack the company first disclosed in April.
In an updated statement on Tuesday, June 9, Nintendo said that a total of 300,000 Nintendo Network IDs were compromised, up from the 160,000 accounts it initially announced in April. Nintendo said it reset passwords on the newly discovered accounts and that it’s “taking additional security measures.” Nintendo, which added that the breach affected fewer than 1% of its Network ID users, is also sending emails to affected customers.
In April, Nintendo revealed that the 160,000 compromised accounts were ones connected to Wii U or 3DS systems and later tied to the Nintendo Switch. Those who created Nintendo Network IDs on the Switch alone were not impacted. Nintendo also said it would stop allowing Nintendo Network ID logins on the Switch to safeguard users.
And while Nintendo accounts are affected, the breach may have come from somewhere else. Nintendo said there was no evidence its own databases or servers were hacked, Eurogamer reported, meaning the login data was scraped on another platform. Nintendo’s Japanese support page also states that the data was harvested somewhere else.
The hacks are by no means unique to Nintendo. Over the years, both Sony and Microsoft have suffered data breaches that may have exposed user data.
Nintendo wasn’t able to confirm that all 300,000 accounts were actually accessed by hackers, but it reset their passwords to ensure user security. If obtained, a person’s nickname, date of birth, country/region, and email address are viewable.
While credit card information or any other sensitive data were not compromised, information like email addresses and dates of birth can be used in conjunction with other more dangerous hacks.
Nintendo all players should consider changing the passwords on both their Network IDs and Nintendo Accounts, even if they weren’t among the 300,000 compromised accounts. It also encouraged users to turn on two-factor authentication to add another layer of security.
“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and concern to our customers and related parties,” Nintendo said in a statement. “In the future, we will strive to further strengthen security and ensure safety so that similar events do not occur.”
Digital Trends reached out to Nintendo for additional comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
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