Valve Confirms: Steam User Data Safe from Hack

Valve has firmly rejected recent reports suggesting its Steam platform was hit by a "major" data hack, asserting that there was "NOT a breach" of Steam systems.

Despite concerns from some users about reports claiming over 89 million user records were compromised, Steam's investigation revealed that the leak involved only "older text messages" containing one-time code SMSs, devoid of any personal data.

In a statement on Steam, Valve clarified that after analyzing the leak sample, it concluded that no customer data was compromised. The statement noted, "The leak consisted of older text messages that included one-time codes valid for only 15-minute periods and the phone numbers they were sent to. Importantly, the leaked data did not connect the phone numbers to any Steam account, password information, payment details, or other personal data."

Valve further reassured users, stating, "Old text messages cannot be used to breach the security of your Steam account. Additionally, when a code is used to change your Steam email or password via SMS, you will receive a confirmation via email and/or Steam secure messages."

Given the increasing frequency of data breaches and the fact that over 89 million individuals have Steam accounts, users were understandably concerned about potential security issues. A notable example in video game history was the infamous 2011 data breach affecting PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable networks, which led to a near month-long outage and compromised 77 million accounts.

Moreover, it's not just customer data at risk. In October of the previous year, Pokémon developer Game Freak experienced a significant hack that exposed data on past and present staff as well as its development pipeline. In 2023, Sony confirmed that data from nearly 7,000 of its current and former employees was compromised in two separate breaches. Additionally, in December 2023, hackers accessed confidential data at Marvel's Spider-Man developer, Insomniac.