Capcom confirms data breach affecting 11.7 million users

Video game company Capcom confirmed this week that its online membership service, Capcom ID, suffered a data breach affecting more than 11.7 million users. The company is urging them to watch for scam emails, which may become more frequent.

What happened

Capcom said in a statement that an unauthorized third party had accessed the service. It detected the incident on October 19, when it noticed suspicious activity pointing to potential unauthorized access. Capcom blocked access immediately and began investigating the cause and scope, but confirmed the unauthorized access had already taken place.

What data was exposed

The breach includes millions of account email addresses. For 43 accounts, birth dates, gender, country or region and nicknames were also exposed. In addition, 196 account passwords were changed without authorization. Capcom stressed that customers' credit card information was not part of the breach.

The company's response and advice

Capcom reported the incident to local police and to its external advisory board for security oversight. It says it has identified and addressed the attack method. All services that use Capcom ID remain available, including games that require it for online play, such as Street Fighter 6.

Because the leaked information could be used to send scam emails impersonating Capcom, the company advised users to be wary of suspicious messages.

Not the only case in the industry

Capcom is not the only major gaming company to be hit recently. Rockstar Games confirmed in April that it had suffered a third-party data breach.