Summary
Valve debunked reports that over 89 millionSteamaccounts were at risk due to a data breach of SMS text messages that were used as two-factor authentication (2FA). While Valve said it would continue its investigation into the matter, the company assuredSteamusers that the leaked data was not associated with any Steam account information whatsoever.
As the top gaming distribution platform available on PCs since 2003, millions of Steam users login to Valve’s service each day. Though other apps such as the Epic Games Store, GOG Galaxy, and Xbox for Windows have emerged as competitors, Steam remains the most visited PC gaming service. Periodically,Steam responds to user feedback with app updatesthat introduce highly-requested features, such as hiding a game from friends and other users or banning paid forced advertising as a revenue model, which would force players to interact with ads in games or offer incentives to watch through them without consent.
Althoughreports of a Steam data breachstated that millions of accounts were at risk due to an apparent SMS text service leak, Valve responded with a quick rebuttal.According to Steam,the service was not breached as a result of the text message leak. Valve stated they examined the leak sample and determined that no Steam account information was at risk. The company explained that the leak was from older text messages that included two-factor authentication codes. However, those codes were only valid for 15 minutes at a time and were bound to the phone numbers that requested them. No phone numbers in the leak were associated with Steam account information or personal data, meaning that they cannot be used in an attempt to breach Steam’s systems.
Steam Assures Users No Information Was Part of Data Breach Reports
Between the security update and the ongoingfree giveaway ofFuri Demakeuntil June 23, Steam users have seen a mixed bag of news throughout May. It remains to be seen what Steam’s ongoing investigations into the leaked text messages turn up.
Steam
Steam is a digital video game storefront and program developed by Valve that allows gamers to purchase, play, and mod their titles all through one convenient program.
