Runes Of Magic Hacker Obtains 3.5M Account Passwords

A hacker going by the handle of augustus87 has managed to break into a Runes of Magic database and obtain 3.5 million account names, user emails addresses,  and passwords. Frogster says the information in the database was from 2007 and therefore probably outdated, but it’s still treating the theft as a serious criminal act. Augusted87 has issued demands to Frogster, stating that he will begin to release the account data in his possession if Frogster does not make certain changes to the game and its administration.

Specific demands made by augustus87 include less strict moderation on the official forum, implementing better security practices, and dealing with customers in a more transparent way. He also demands that Frogster treat certain employees better and eliminate certain cheats from Runes of Magic. If his demands are not met within two weeks, augustus87 claims he will release 1000 user emails, account logins, and account passwords per day. Frogster has contacted German law enforcement regarding the theft.

Runes of Magic was initially developed by a Taiwanese company, but is now published by Frogster and other partners worldwide. The game is a family-oriented MMORPG and virtual world that users can play for free, with optional subscriptions, microtransactions, and virtual goods available for purchase. Frogster is a company just coming off of a series of major changes, which include coming under control of competing firm Gameforge and the abrupt dismissal of three key executives, who were replaced internally.

[via Kotaku]

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