Raptr, a popular gaming social network website, has urged all of its users to change their passwords following a recent hack. In a security update message posted on Raptr’s site, Founder and CEO Dennis Fong disclosed the incident to the Raptr community: “Maintaining the highest level of security around your Raptr account information is of the utmost importance to us, so we're very sorry to inform you that some Raptr user data may have been recently compromised in an attack similar to hacking activities that have targeted other high-profile sites and services such as Xbox Live and Sony's PlayStation Network.” He goes on to explain that the attackers may have gained unauthorized access to user names, email addresses, password hashes, and first and last names, whereas users’ Raptr Reward Points, which they can redeem to earn in-game gifts, are not threatened by the hack because they are protected by two-factor authentication. The danger, Fong states, is that the attackers could use the stolen credentials to compromise the security of accounts on other sites if members re-use the same password. Users of the website are therefore asked to change their passwords as soon as possible. Other gaming communities besides Raptr have been hacked in the past. However, instead of stealing login credentials, some of the most recent attacks have focused on using Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks to bring down the gaming services altogether, such as Lizard Squad’s Christmas attack against PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. In May of 2014, Raptr announced that its membership had exceeded over 21 million users in over 100 countries. Fong attributed this growth to the site’s focus on PC optimization for gamers, even if players use older systems. For better password security, it is recommended that users everywhere always use a unique password for each web account. This precaution will help to minimize user risk in the event of a security breach of one of those accounts.
