218 Million Accounts Compromised in Zynga Hacking Incident

A recent Zynga hacking incident reportedly compromised 218 million accounts.

An individual named Gnosticplayers claims to have hacked Zynga-developed smash mobile hit, Words With Friends. According to the hacker, about 218 million player records were compromised.

These include names, login IDs, email addresses, Facebook IDs, phone numbers, and hashed passwords.

So, if you signed up for the game before the breach occurred last month, your data could be part of the compromised 218 million. Also, you may want to consider changing your Words with Friends Password.

Although the passwords were scrambled, it’s not entirely impossible to crack. But, the only harm a hacker can do on your Words with Friends account is to mess-up your high score.

However, if you happen to use the same password for your email address, Facebook account, or other accounts, the Zynga data breach could do more damage than you can imagine. The unwelcome visitor could easily have access to personal, including financial information.

Although Zynga has not commented on the specifics, the game developers released a statement on the possible data breach several weeks ago.

Zynga wrote in the post:

“We recently discovered that certain player account information might have been illegally accessed by outside hackers. An investigation was immediately commenced, leading third-party forensics firms were retained to assist, and we have contacted law enforcement.”

The game developers also stated that the breach did not expose its users’ financial or payment data.

Precaution Against Zynga Hacking Incident and Similar Data Breaches

Millions of user account credentials leak out on the web every year. From social media giants like Facebook to the American Medical Collection Agency breach, your data is always at risk.

Some essential steps can help you minimize the risks.

For one, don’t use the same password for all your accounts. Instead, use long and unique passwords for each of them.

Memorizing the various passwords can be a bit challenging. That’s where a password manager comes in. You’ll only have to learn one long, unique password.

One more thing: delete and disconnects any account that you’re no longer using. Rather than uninstall games or social accounts from your phone, try to remove the associated account.

Also, remember to turn on two-factor authentication on all your accounts. Whether it’s your Google, Microsoft, Apple, or Facebook account, that added layer of security can keep your data safe.

With that said, these steps won’t make you invulnerable to breaches like the Zynga hacking incident. It’ll just make it a bit harder for impostors to gain unauthorized access to your account.