Zynga: 200 million player accounts cracked

In September, Hacker said it used a data leak from the popular social games “Draw With Friends” and “Words With Friends” to access the information from more than 200 million user accounts. Publisher Zynga has now confirmed the incident in a blog post . The stolen data includes names, email addresses and log-in information.

Zynga: First measures initiated

The hacker, who operates under the name “Gnosticplayers”, gained access to both iOS and Android user databases. All players who installed the games before September 2, 2019 are potentially affected. The CNET portal even reports “Words With Friends” of 218 million stolen data records alone. Zynga said the attack occurred on September 12th. The relevant authorities have already been informed and work is under high pressure to clarify the case. In addition, measures have been taken to prevent illegal access to accounts. Players should definitely renew their passwords – and not just in the game, but also with other private accounts. Since users often use the same password for different services, it cannot be ruled out that the stolen information could also be used to gain access to email or social media accounts.

User data: Attacks are piling up

Zynga is not the only distributor who has to deal with hackers and cyber attacks. According to information from the security software manufacturer Norton , there were already around 54 percent more large-scale attacks in the first half of 2019 than in the same period in 2018. Figures speak of around 3,800 cyber attacks, in which hackers gained access to more than 4.1 billion user data , There are security gaps and negligent handling of user information in all economic areas, regardless of whether in the entertainment, health or financial sectors. The only thing left for users is to protect themselves as best as possible and to use different passwords, to change them regularly and to release their data sparingly.