Valve Confirms: Steam User Data Safe from Hack

Valve has firmly refuted recent reports suggesting that its Steam platform experienced a "major" data hack, emphasizing that there was "NOT a breach" of Steam systems.

Amid concerns from some users about claims that over 89 million user records were compromised, Steam's thorough investigation revealed that the incident involved a leak of "older text messages." Importantly, these one-time code SMSs did not contain any personal data.

In a statement posted directly on Steam, Valve clarified that after meticulously examining the leak sample, it concluded that customer data remained secure. The statement detailed: "The leak consisted of older text messages that included one-time codes, valid only for 15-minute periods, along with the phone numbers they were sent to. Crucially, the leaked data did not link the phone numbers to any Steam account, password information, payment details, or other personal data."

Valve further reassured users that "Old text messages cannot be used to breach the security of your Steam account." They highlighted that any attempt to change a Steam email or password using SMS would trigger a confirmation via email and/or secure Steam messages.

Given the alarming increase in data breaches and the vast number of Steam users, concerns about potential security threats were understandable. The gaming community remains vigilant, recalling the infamous video game-related data breach of 2011 that led to a nearly month-long outage of PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable networks, affecting 77 million accounts.

The risks extend beyond customer data; for instance, in October of the previous year, Pokémon developer Game Freak faced a significant hack exposing data on past and present staff and its development plans. Earlier, in 2023, Sony confirmed that nearly 7,000 of its current and former employees' data was compromised in two separate breaches. Additionally, in December 2023, hackers accessed confidential data at Marvel's Spider-Man developer, Insomniac, underscoring the ongoing threat to the gaming industry.