Diablo 3: number of players who have reported an account hack "extremely small", insists Blizzard
"We want to make it clear that the Battle.net and Diablo 3 servers have not been compromised."
The number of players who have reported a Diablo 3 account hack is "extremely small", Blizzard has insisted.
Battle.net is awash with reports of account being hijacked and then stripped of gold and items. Earlier this week Blizzard insisted these hacks were being caused using "traditional" means. Today, it went into more detail on the issue, and insisted Battle.net and the Diablo 3 servers remain secure.
"Over the past couple of days, players have expressed concerns over the possibility of Battle.net account compromises," community manager Nethaera wrote on Battle.net.
"First and foremost, we want to make it clear that the Battle.net and Diablo 3 servers have not been compromised. In addition, the number of Diablo 3 players who've contacted customer service to report a potential compromise of their personal account has been extremely small.
"In all of the individual Diablo 3-related compromise cases we've investigated, none have occurred after a physical Battle.net Authenticator or Battle.net Mobile Authenticator app was attached to the player's account, and we have yet to find any situation where a Diablo 3 player's account was accessed outside of 'traditional' compromise methods (i.e. someone logging using an account's login email and password)."
Players have speculated that one method used to hijack accounts involves obtaining a player's identity during a public game, what's called "session spoofing", but Blizzard said it has found no evidence this is happening.
"Regarding this specific example, we've looked into the issue and found no evidence to indicate compromises are occurring in this fashion, and we've determined the methods being suggested to do so are technically impossible," Nethaera continued.
"However, you have our assurance that we'll continue to investigate reports such as these and keep you informed of important updates."
Blizzard once again recommended players use smart password management (using a unique password for every site/service and keeping your password to yourself) and scanning for malware and viruses regularly.
"In the end, while no security method is 100 per cent foolproof, the physical Battle.net Authenticator andBattle.net Mobile Authenticator app are great ways to provide your account with an extra layer of protection."