Nintendo Alerts Gamers After 160,000 User Accounts Fall Prey To Hackers

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Nintendo has made a shocking revelation about its user accounts. As many as 160,000 accounts were affected during the recent hacking attempts. The Japanese videogame and consumer electronics company confirmed that hackers were able to gain access to the login ID and the passwords via third-party access earlier this month.

 
Nintendo Accounts Hacked Via Third-Party Access; Gamers Alerted

Nintendo Accounts Hacked

According to Nintendo's announcement, hackers logged into 160,000 accounts without any authorization. The official statement on the official Nintendo Japanese website noted that the first issue was spotted in the first few days of April. The gaming company said that hackers were able to login to the accounts through the Nintendo Network ID (NNID).

 

There were multiple credentials that the hackers might have gained access to. This includes nicknames, country, date of birth, and email addresses of the affected accounts, Nintendo said. Furthermore, the company stressed that the hackers were able to get these account IDs and passwords illegally by some other means, indicating third-party access.

What's worse, hackers were able to make a couple of "fraudulent purchases" via account access. Adding on, the Japanese company said that users will no longer be able to login to the Nintendo Account via the NNID network.

Steps Taken By Nintendo

The number of hacking reports has spiked since many countries announced lockdown. As more and more people have shifted their work and personal life through virtual connections, hackers are tapping into vulnerable accounts and highlighting the lapse of security.

In the case of Nintendo accounts, the company said it has reset the passwords for all the affected accounts; plus, it has used the NNID system to log in on 3DS and Wii U devices. Also, the latest Nintendo Switch series uses a new Nintendo Account system for login, allowing users to link the older NNID accounts with the new system.

Nintendo also said that it has warned affected users via emails, asking them to reset their password and avoid using a similar password on other platforms. Gamers also advised avoiding using similar passwords for NNID or their new accounts to ensure that their Nintendo balance or registered credit cards and other payment methods aren't hacked as well.

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