In response to widespread claims by Diablo III players that accounts are being compromised and looted, Blizzard has issued a pair of statements ensuring the community that neither Battle.Net or the Diablo III servers have been hacked since the game's launch.
The first message from Blizzard community manager Stephanie Johnson said that the number of incidents is generally high right after a game's release: "Historically, the release of a new game -- such as a World of Warcraft expansion -- will result in an increase in reports of individual account compromises, and that's exactly what we're seeing now with Diablo III."
A second message from Blizzard community manager Micah Whipple, (a.k.a. Bashiok) was more direct, assuring players that incidents of account compromise are not systemic: "Despite the claims and theories being made, we have yet to find any situations in which a person's account was not compromised through traditional means of someone else logging into their account through the use of their password."
Both representatives added that players concerned over the privacy of their accounts should use the Battle.Net authenticator or Authenticator apps on iOS and Android to protect their in-game valuables: "[The Battle.Net Authenticator and Authenticator apps] continue to be some of the most effective measures we offer to help players protect themselves against account compromises."
For players who want even more security, Blizzard is also adding a text message-based security system, Battle.Net SMS Protect, that asks players to unlock their account via text before playing or changing any personal information.
Johnson said that any player who has been hacked should go report the situation using the Help! I've Been Hacked tool.
[Via Battle.Net]
