Bad news for Steam players with a pinch of salt. After the report of 19 billion passwords leaked by Cybernews, another cybersecurity company, Underdark, claimed that 89 million Steam accounts have surfaced on the dark web for sale. The cybersecurity company claimed that the compromised data included passwords and phone numbers of Steam account holders. The data is allegedly auctioned at $5,000.
Valve Refutes the Report
Valve, the company behind Steam, has firmly rejected the report of a massive data breach on the platform. In the official statement, Valve stated that the company has examined the leaked samples circulating on the dark web and social media and assured the users that their accounts are safe. Valve wrote in the post.
“We have examined the leak sample and have determined this was NOT a breach of Steam systems. We’re still digging into the source of the leak, which is compounded by the fact that any SMS messages are unencrypted in transit and routed through multiple providers on the way to your phone. The leak consisted of older text messages that included one-time codes that were only valid for 15-minute time frames and the phone numbers they were sent to. The leaked data did not associate the phone numbers with a Steam account, password information, payment information or other personal data."
Security Protocols for Steam Users
Although Valve has assured Steam users that their accounts are safe, steam users need to enhance their security protocols for future breaches.
Change Your Password Now: Valve said users do not need to change their passwords because of this leak, though anyone reusing an old or weak password should still update it.
Two-Factor Authentication: To enhance security for future breaches, Steam players need to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) via their mobile numbers and emails. If you already have 2FA and you have recently received an email or one-time password request, ignore them and change your password again.
Use Password Managers: The revelations by Cybernews of a 19 billion password leak across more than 200 security incidents in the last year demonstrate that most of the passwords were easy to crack due to weak security protocols and the use of simple, easily guessable passwords. Therefore, Steam players could use password managers not just for this game but to enhance their overall digital security. Some of the top password managers are NordPass, 1Password, RoboForm, Proton Pass, and Dashlane.
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