DayZ forums hacked, user info and encrypted passwords stolen

The DayZ development team tweeted on January 23 that its forums had suffered “an outside security breach,” and recommended that users change their passwords, “just in case.” Today it put out a more detailed and dire message, indicating that the situation is rather worse than it first appeared.

“A security incident occurred on forums.dayzgame.com recently. According to our investigation all usernames, emails and passwords from forums.dayzgame.com were accessed and downloaded by hackers,” it says. “While the passwords were not stored in plain text, but in a more secure form, it is highly recommended that if you have used the same password elsewhere you change it immediately on all applicable websites and services.”

Even encrypted, or 'hashed' passwords, can sometimes be used to compromise accounts with some work (here's an old example), so if you use the same password on any other sites, it's time to change it.

Bohemia says it has “major changes” planned to reduce the likelihood of this sort of thing happening again, including a switch from the current IPBoard login system to the separate and more secure Bohemia Accounts. It also warned that service interruptions over the next few weeks are likely to happen as the systems are migrated to the new setup.

For those who may not have yet checked email, here is an update on our recent security breach. Questions welcome. pic.twitter.com/4zEz03UL2sFebruary 4, 2016

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.